North River Vineyard

Spring semester, sophomore year: my first apartment! My roommate, Melissa, and I scraped together a deposit and first month’s rent for a one-bedroom attic apartment just off campus. I was so excited to get our first utility bill—addressed to me and not my parents (I still have the page from the phonebook with my name and first telephone number)! We had taken one more step into adulthood.

Thursday last week I spent eight hours in the car with my father. He was on his way home to Ohio from a meeting in Alabama, and I decided last minute to go with him.

Celebrate Advent by following the suggested reading calendar.

Let’s say someone you love drew you a picture. You could tell he put time and care and resources into creating this gift specifically for you. You hang it on your refrigerator, front and center, and each day it reminds you of him and your relationship.

The picture stays on your fridge for months, years even. Over time the magnetic surface accumulates other things: photographs and coupons, flyers and news clippings, grocery lists and appointment cards. Soon you can hardly see the picture because of all the clutter around it.

Daniel and I were still newlyweds when we moved back to Chattanooga to work on a renovation project in an “up-and-coming” area of downtown. We moved in and lived without walls or floors or much else for several weeks.
After months of applying for work, I finally got a job as a temporary holiday employee at the mall, but Daniel worked full-time re-building the house by himself. (This led to a depressing time in which he spent many of his mornings baking and his afternoons watching Oprah.) We barely had enough money to make our car payment--our one bill--let alone buy groceries.