Nashville Diary: Week 1

After saying goodbye to our beautiful house in the woods of St. Louis’ suburbs, Sarah and I, along with a rag-tag fleet of family and friends, moved all of our stuff into our 900 square ft. apartment in east Nashville.

The following days have mostly been filled with unpacking, giving away stuff we can’t fit or don’t need, and generally getting used to Nashville. Here’s the highlights from the week:

• Sarah and I visited our favorite gyro shop just across the highway from our apartment. The food’s unbelievable, and the help speaks to each other in Greek. I have a feeling I shouldn’t make them mad. 

• We attended a beautiful multi-church concert with our new friends the Grossmans. The bands were all tight, and it was my first time of seeing a lap steel player perform in worship. The level of music talent in Nashville continues to amaze me.

• In a three-stooges-esque series of events, I managed to lose 4 dogs, fall down a flight of concrete stairs and destroy my iPhone in under 15 seconds. After a half hour of chasing them down, I got back all the dogs. Amazingly, all I got from falling down the stairs were some minor scratches and bruises. The iPhone looks like it’s a goner. 

• Between nursing a cold, I’ve been able to meet with some amazing people, including the talented keyboard player Luke Moseley. I also landed my first show in Nashville playing keyboard for the talented Jill Grossman at a winery. 

What have I learned this week? I think my biggest takeaway is that Nashvillians are unbelievably generous, kind-hearted people. This town feels very southern in all the best ways possible, and minding your manners counts more here than it does up north. I’m honored to call this place home.