love for Emily

A few months ago, I realized next August will represent my 10th year of living in Nashville. I love this city and decided next year I'd throw a party to celebrate this milestone. My next thought was to share the occasion with those friends that moved to Nashville with me in August of 2000 and are still here...but I soon realized there was only 1 that fit the bill...my sweet friend Emily. (Karen, you halfway count...since you were living just outside of town.) Then a few weeks ago, Emily decided to move to Atlanta despite the decade in Nashville party proposition!

Emily has been a wonderful friend in our (so far) 9 year history. The photo on the left is from earlier on...maybe in year 2 (as I had to scan this copy). We lived on the same floor our freshman year at Belmont, teamed up for Young Life, shared space in the Massey building as business students, and attended church together. She is one passionate, resourceful, honest, bold, and loving person, and I am better for knowing her. After college, we have regularly met for early morning coffees before work and for the past few years have been in a book club together. I always look forward to my time with her...frequently leaving with a sheet of notes with websites I should check out and books I should read.

I will miss her dearly, but I know she is just down the road for me to go visit. I love a good excuse for a little weekend trip anyway. Also, she and Jim are both from the Knoxville area, so maybe now I'll see her for holidays and long weekends.

Thursday night (photo at right), nearly 30 of her friends gathered to celebrate her for dinner. It was a great time to meet those I've heard her speak of often, and I hope she felt loved. Our friend Corie passed an envelope to Emily and told her it was a "love letter." That's just the kind of gal Emily is...a worthy recipient of that kind of love.