i just got back home from the loveliest week spent in memphis. the main catalyst for the trip was rhodes homecoming to celebrate our 20-year reunion, and the timing of it meant i was in town for the choices 50th anniversary gala and diwali as well. it was a busy week and i had a blast, and i thought i’d share some highlights with you this week.

a serendipitous lunch with the ingwersen fam. my friend lauren texted me one night asking if my mother still goes to grizz games because they would be in town for the home opener and wanted to go say hi if she would be there. i immediately responded to say that while my mother wouldn’t be at the game, i would be in town and would they have time to catch up. on saturday i met lauren and lance and their sons sam and elliot for lunch at kwik chek and it was great to be able to chat with them and get to know their boys. we determined it had been 8 years since we’d last seen each other in person, so i’m so happy we were able to make this work.

celebrating 50 years of choices. choices is a reproductive health care clinic in memphis that has provided services for half a century, and they threw an incredible party to celebrate. i am a donor and longtime fan of the organization, my girl caitlin lloyd works for them, and the gala was the same day as her birthday, so it was a no-brainer to come in a few days early. maya and i met at corrinne’s place and the three of us rode down together, and we had a blast dancing and eating and celebrating.

a roomigo reunion. i hadn’t seen my senior year roommate emily and her family in ages and luckily it worked out for me to go hang with her for a few hours on sunday afternoon. they moved earlier this year so i got to see their new place, see joe and the kids, and get lots of cuddles from the pups, and emily and i had the chance to catch up over the last few years and fill each other in on what we’ve been up to. i love just going over to a friend’s house and chilling, and this was the perfect way to spend a sunday.

a quick visit to little rock. as luck would have it there was an alumni panel at the clinton school during the week i was in memphis, so my mother and i went on a little jaunt over to little rock to listen in and say hi to some friends. and as icing on the cake maggie was also in town, which meant we got to have a mothers and daughters lunch date with her and mama tiziana at the root. it was so much fun to watch our mothers chat and giggle and get to know each other, and i’m so happy the timing worked out.

celebrating diwali with my family. we don’t do a ton in our family for diwali but since we were all together this year my mother and i made a nice dinner of chicken curry, veg korma, and bhindi, and my mother made kheer for dessert. we turned on the lights and lit some candles and welcomed in the light for the coming year, and it was great to be with them for the day.

rhodes homecoming. what a great weekend! i got to see so many fun friends from my year and across other classes, i got to enjoy a few nights of staying downtown [thank you, jen!], i got to reconnect with people i hadn’t seen since we graduated 20 years ago. it was fun to indulge in some nostalgia, to remember parties and roommates and memories of those long ago days, and to meet so many of my friends’ kids. being in college in the early 2000s was kind of a special time, and it was great to revisit those days for a weekend.

in between all these adventures i had dinner with chris and jessi, i caught up with jen in snatches when i bunked with her homecoming weekend, i revisited some of my favorite running spots in the city, and i ran lots of errands with my mother. it was a jam-packed visit, and i’m so glad i made the trip.

and because of the timing, i’ll be back in just over two weeks for thanksgiving and marathon weekend. never a dull moment!

xx