Monday, August 3. Well, the morning started out a bit rushed. David forgot to set his alarm. We agreed to meet downstairs and checkout at 10 AM and David woke us up at 9:30 AM. No rush.
We had breakfast at this good old country place. It had good southern country cooking, David’s favorite. Brielle found my bladder fascinating so naturally I felt like I had to tinkle every five seconds and that made it pretty difficult to walk. The joys of pregnancy. I ordered stuffed french toast with strawberries, Mom ordered a breakfast plate with bacon and eggs so that we could each split. Dad ordered a ton of food, as did David. By the time they had each made it about halfway through their meals they called it, “Challenge not accepted.” Which was probably best, because we had a lot of walking to do.
We went to St. John’s Cathedral next. I didn’t know how Mom and Dad would feel about cathedrals. Some people enjoy looking at old churches, other’s don’t. They liked it. Actually extremely impressed. I walked around a bit and then sat down up front and cradled Brielle. The organ was playing and it was beautiful inside the church. She loved it. Brielle moved more and was more alert than she had been the whole trip. She was peaceful and happy, if that makes sense. It made me so happy to feel her. I’ve never given much thought to cathedrals, but feeling her move, hearing the organ, and taking in the beauty of the cathedral was incredibly moving. And I found myself again saying, “Lord, please save my baby.” I flipped through their church books. As I opened the hymnal it opened to “Lovely Infant” and I couldn’t think of a better or more encouraging hymn to open up to. David came and sat down with me and we loved on Brielle and spoke softly to her. We love her so much. Mom came and sat down with us and Dad took action shots with his camera.
We left just as they were beginning another service. It had just started raining as we were leaving. An older man stopped Mom & Dad to do this cute thing where he makes flowers out of palm fronds. He “marries” you or renews your vows and you pay a small price for the flowers. David and I did that our first trip to Savannah. So we didn’t feel it was right to do it again. Maybe we should have? I’m now regretting not watching Mom and Dad get their flowers. I don’t think I could have handled any more emotion though. I was raw, so raw from the church and the thought of losing my sweet Brielle. Mom and Dad bought David and I a flower as well, so that was nice.
We headed to the Juliette Gordon Lowe house. That was a really interesting tour. I don’t think Brielle got much out of it, but the rest of us did. I didn’t expect much because I’ve never paid attention to the Girl Scouts. But this definitely piqued my interest. At the end, the tour guide told me I’d have to have Brielle become a little Girl Scout. I didn’t tell her Brielle had anencephaly. It’s a nice thought though. It’s nice to think of Brielle growing up.
We then went to the Harper Fowlkes House. That was a strange tour. The woman who had owned the house was quite a feminist and had a very interesting story, but she had donated it to the Society of Cincinnati. Which is a society only for men, who were officers in the Revolutionary War. I told Dad it was her way of rubbing this in their faces, they had to honor a woman’s history and legacy because she left them a huge historical home. If I’m right, that woman is smart. I like her. I don’t think it was as nice of a house as the Juliette Gordon Lowe, but it was still interesting.
I had to hang out back and sit for a while because my feet were just too swollen. I think that bothered the tour guide, but whatever. We then went to the car and headed to Blick’s Art Store. Dad and I were the most excited about this. I restocked on some Micron pens, looked around, bought a sketchbook, and a new eraser since my old one had gone bad. Dad and I had a lot of fun. And they had giant canvases. Dad asked if he could have a drawing table for his office now that Tessa had taken her old desk. Mom said yes, and now Dad’s in heaven.
We had lunch at this great place. It was some sort of cafe near SCAD and Blick’s. I was having really bad pains, I think Brielle was letting me know she’d had enough. So once we ate, we got in the car and headed back to Atlanta. I tried to find some houses that I love that are just outside of the squares, but I couldn’t find them. I was so disappointed.
The girls (our dog children) went crazy when they saw Mom and Dad. I haven’t seen Emmy that excited in years. She was SO happy to see her Grandma and Papa again. We talked for a bit, I had some popcorn, which Brielle and the girls enjoyed. Dad and Mom found it hilarious how fixated Emmy and Rosie were on the popcorn and how they would take turns getting their piece. It didn’t take long before we all went to bed. I snuggled Brielle, the girls, and David (family snuggles). And we went to bed.
lovingbrielle.com 