Midsummer 2009, one member of the MTC Class of 2007 got married: Kelsey Mayo. Halfway through MTC Summer School, I took a weekend off and trekked to Tallahassee, Florida with MTC-ers Molly, Anna and Eleanor, who were/still are, respectively: my personal encourager, my English mentor, and my current roommate. Personally, I was stoked to get to spend time with them. I admire each of these corps members deeply, plus they make me laugh and smile a lot. Besides the top-notch company, the trip offered the perks of a refreshing disruption of the routine, the entertaining anecdotes that a road trip instigates, two nights being spoiled in a hotel, an afternoon soaking in unrushed relaxation poolside in Florida, the opportunity to witness a beautiful and meaningful marriage, and the unbridled enjoyment of hors d'oeuvres and dances at the reception. (Wow! What a feat in parallelism that catalogue was. Are you proud, Walt Whitman? How about you, SATP test-question writer?)
My enthusiasm as a mere car passenger cannot be overstated. Ask Eleanor, and you may discover that she had to bear my idiosyncratic beaming. Did she notice me grinning for the entire duration of crossing Alabama in her rearview mirror? Whatever the case, I enjoyed the ride.
Once in Tallahassee, the hotel welcomed us. Kudos to Kelsey, who selected a top-notch, and still affordable, hotel for her wedding guests! I really loved the fact of how cheap this trip was – wedding gift included – when the expenses were split four ways. We luxuriated in its agreeable décor and took full advantage of the omelet bar both mornings. Being spoiled in a hotel is easily one of my favorite things about being alive. But staying in a hotel alone would negate it all; it’s the being with friends one loves that makes it so sweet.
Four parts of our weekend in the hotel stand out in my memory: one, when Eleanor assisted me in straightening my hair as we all got gussied up for the wedding, that was the first time my hair had ever been truly straightened. When I do my own hair, I am too impatient to let the straightener do its work. Moreover, every girl can agree that having someone else do your hair is better than a massage. (Like I said, I was being spoiled that weekend!)
During another moment of our hotel stay, the four of us were giggling and talking loudly as we exchanged the entertaining and mind-bending points of our lives. Kelsey herself, the busy bride, ducked in our room and said hello briefly. The four of us resumed our social night in the room; we got two courtesy phone calls that night, with love from our disgruntled neighbors, telling us to pipe down. We didn’t really listen.
The day of Kelsey’s wedding, JAME (Jen, Anna, Molly, Eleanor) spent three hours tanning and enjoying the hotel pool. This was not a brainless time, however. Molly and I threw sociological insights and jargon back and forth with as much pleasure as we would if we were throwing beach balls. We discussed faith and race, in particular. As usual, when talking to Molly, I felt my mind being activated as if I were reading a book. So effortless and invigorating was our conversation!
That second eve, one of the four of us composed a lengthy letter to a significant other. I don’t think I am at liberty to disclose who that was. Needless to say, it was a high-quality composition, as it contained input from four (in my opinion) brilliant minds.
The drive back to Mississippi was less memorable, somehow. Maybe it was like a watercolor effect; when receding from a memorable time, the senses become less heightened as they download and process what they just experienced. The shift back into life in Holly Springs resumed as smoothly as a seasoned manual transmission the following Monday.
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