Gretchen, a resident at the home, told me to give President Obama a kiss when I get to Washington for her. Elaine was rambling on and on about her boyfriend who was all the way in New Jersey. But my favorite, was couple from Ohio I had meet. They were living replicas of Ali and Noah from The Notebook. As the residents were gathering in the room, I had the chance to hear their story. They had meet during their college years at Ohio State where they fell in love. He became a math teacher while she became a english teacher. I am not quite sure how she got put into the home, but it was evident that she wasn't all there. But that didn't matter to him. As they held hands, he made sure that she was singing along with the rest of the group. She was having such a good time and he made sure to document it by taking her picture on his cell phone. At this point I lost it, tears running down my face.I had experienced first hand what true love looks like. It was quite the overwhelming experience for me.
After the nursing home, we were off to Tennessee. I have found a new love for this state. We had stopped in Knoxville to grab something to eat. A group of us decided to go to an Indian restaurant which served some pretty darn good food. Then off we were, on our way to Pigeon Forge. With a little side adventure, we finally found our way to Camp Smokey.
After getting settled in, we were to meet in the dining hall. Once we got there, we were informed that we were playing the yarn game. For those of you that do not know what that game entails, it is where one person shares a story of a struggle and then passes the yarn onto another and then they tell their story and so on. In the end you have a yarn cobweb which represents how we are all connected.
I'm not gonna lie, this was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I had to tell these complete strangers, something that is very personal to me, that I hardly talk about with those closest to me.
I know I wasn't the only one that felt this way. But I did it, along with the 40 others on this tour.
I was in awe listening to everyones story. And I thought I had it bad? I can't even compare to some of these people. My life has been so blessed. Yes, I have had my ups and I have definitely had my downs but it could have been a lot worse then it was. I am so thankful to everyone on this trip that shared their story. It truly shows how strong each and everyone of you are. It was a real eye opener for me.
That activity lasted til about two in the morning, so running on about four hours of sleep I cleaned the ditches along the Gatlinburg National Park. I discovered a new pet peeve: to those of you who smoke, I have no problem with you smoking, but I beg you to not throw your butts out while driving. One simple act such as that could have a HUGE impact on the environment! I learned that first hand today.
Well right now it's getting late and I am laying on a hard floor of a church in n
North Carolina, so I should probably get to bed. Night y'all :)
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