Resurrection
Last week I was sitting in a hotel room in Boston—actually, it was a hybrid hotel/hostel. The bathrooms were at the end of the hall. As someone who grew up camping and using bathhouses, it didn’t bug me a bit. It felt very euro chic and cool, which amused this Tennessee hillbilly.
I was there for a client meeting, but the Rock Goddess winked at me and sent Teenage Fanclub to Boston at the same time. That never happens on work trips, you know. The Fanclub was joyful and fun, effortlessly singing those gorgeous harmonies, playing my favorites and adding to my most-loved list. My jaws ached from smiling.
Teenage Fanclub at the Paradise in Boston
The next day I wandered around MFA Boston for a couple of hours, soaking it in, getting a contact buzz, the one you get from powerful art.
One painting in particular, Joan Snyder's Resurrection, possessed a peculiar mix of repulsion and attraction. I circled around it, almost afraid to get close, but was awed when I did.
The eight-panel piece portrays violence using anxious imagery with collaged newspaper headlines about crime against women, children, and the elderly. But the painting is a journey, a transformation, as chaos travels to a hallowed place depicted by an angel with a sacred heart, the colors transition from dark to light. There is hope.
The rest of my time in Boston was work-related, productive and fun. I genuinely adore the people I work with—we’re like family. However, I had to rush home and then rush out of town because my house went on the market the next day.
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I spent the weekend in Knoxville with the children of my best friend, Nicola, who passed away in 2021. May 4 was her birthday, and we silently commemorated it by being together.
Being with the girls is such a gift—Nicola’s lovely spirit radiates through them. I feel like I have a little bit of my friend back, and I hope they feel my love for her in my love for them. Enough time has passed that we can reminisce and tell stories without being buried in grief. The tears are still there, but they give way to smiles.
Sunday, I was home in Nashville, and we were under contract for the house on Monday! Next week, I’m traveling with my fella to New Orleans — the best town in America. I can’t wait to tell you about that.
And in June, I’m moving to Athens, Georgia because I’m in love. Like Snyder’s painting, life travels from dark to light and inevitably back to dark. But wonders never cease along the way—if we keep our eyes open.
