roots vs. wings

On the same topic as my previous post, I was watching Sweet Home Alabama on tv the other night and one quote in that movie stuck out and bothered me. "You can't have roots and wings." I immediately responded "yes, you can" (do ya'll respond to the tv?), but the more I think about it, I'm not sure that's really true. You kind of have to pick between a life with steady jobs (hopefully), a house, a church you attend regularly, friends you see regularly, and the occasional exciting week-long trip OR you choose a life where you never really have any true commitments - flexible job, short-term rent, and friends and family you see much less often as you constantly move from place to place. When you put it like that, the choice sounds simple. Maybe.

Our friends, Kyle and Andrea, just got back from graduation in NYC. I almost teared up when I got the text from Andrea that said "it's official - kyle's a doctor!". It's such a long and tiring (and ridiculously expensive) road but all of that just makes it that bigger of an accomplishment when it's finally accomplished! So, our turn is next. When Ryan is really and truly and legally Dr. Pearman we will have accomplished the goal we have been working towards the entire time we've been married...and then what?

The closer we get to the light at the end of the tunnel, the more I find myself thinking about what we will do next. Where will we match for residency? Will we test our wings on another adventure? Or dig our roots deeper into the South? I've always considered myself to have roots and wings. I've always loved to travel and believed the world is way too big to spend your life in one place. In the next breath I believe there are people in your life that are way too important to spend too much time away from - and I love the South. And you can't really have both... c.r.a.p.

I heard a preacher who had been in the military say that moving from place to place and never setting down roots is a constant reminder that we're never truly "home" anywhere on this earth. Our true home is in heaven and that is where we are designed to be - this is all temporary anyway. It also helped him and his wife not get caught up in materialistic things. Believe me - from the 8 moves we've done in the past 4 years - you don't want to have much stuff to pack and drag along with you from place to place. Keeping it simple makes the job of moving way less stressful.

Since the majority of our families lives within a 3 hr radius of each other, I'm 99% sure we'll choose roots (happily). But that 1% of me still wants the adventure of experiencing, not traveling to, but experiencing different places. Who knows, maybe we can still fly south (way south) for the winters...

a little bit of hollywood

Some of my favorite movie quotes - most are about love, but I threw in a few other ones for fun. :)

- "Hakuna Matata! It means 'no worries' - for the rest of your days. It's our problem free philosophy." - The Lion King

- "You know, even though I had to wear that stupid back brace and you were kind of fat - we were still totally cutting edge." - Romey & Michelle's High School Reunion

- "I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite!" - Elf

- "I do not see plays, because I can nap at home for free. And I don't see movies 'cause they're trash, and they got nothin' but naked people in 'em! And I don't read books, 'cause if they're any good, they're gonna make 'em into a miniseries." - Ouiser in Steele Magnolias

- "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." - Truvy in Steele Magnolias

- "I don't like her. I don't trust anyone who does their own hair. I don't think it's natural." - Truvy in Steele Magnolias

- "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." - Scarlett in Gone with the Wind

- "You should be kissed often, and by someone who knows how. " - Rhett in Gone with the Wind

- "Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around." - Love Actually

- "I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough. " - Noah from The Notebook

- "That's my sweetheart in there. Wherever she is, that's where my home is. " - Noah from The Notebook

- "So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday. " - Noah from The Notebook

- "Iris, in the movies, we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason, you're behaving like the best friend." "You're so right. You're supposed to be the leading lady in your own life, for goodness sake!" - Author and Iris from The Holiday

- "Well, yes, ma'am, I do... I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what's gonna happen or, who I'm gonna meet, where I'm gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count." - Jack from Titanic

- "We never found anything on Jack... there's no record of him at all." "No, there wouldn't be, would there? And I've never spoken of him until now... Not to anyone... Not even your grandfather... A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets. But now you know there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me... in every way that a person can be saved. I don't even have a picture of him. He exists now... only in my memory. " - Conversation from Titanic

- "You only meet your once in a lifetime friends... once in a lifetime." - Little Rascals

- "Sean and I have been talking and Michael, if you're gonna accept a football scholarship we think it should be to Tennessee. And I promise that I will be at every game cheering for you. Every game. But I will not wear that gaudy orange, I will not. It is not my colour wheel and I'm not gonna wear it." - The Blind Side

- "There's no place like home." - The Wizard of Oz

- "You're never fully dressed without a smile." - Annie

- "I'm one stomach flu away from reaching my goal weight." - The Devil Wears Prada

- "Silver white winters that melt into springs, these are a few of my favorite things " - The Sound of Music

- "Her recommendations for a campsite were totally unsuitable. There were no outlets. And there was dirt, and bugs, and... and it rains there. So anyway, we've found a place that's much more us: the Beverly Hills Hotel." - Troop Beverly Hills

- "Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!" - On Golden Pond

- "You have to do the best with what God gave you." - Forrest Gump

- "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard." - Annie

- "A dream is a wish your heart makes." - Cinderella

- "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. " - When Harry Met Sally

In the Perfect World of Ashley Pearman

If money grew on trees, clothes washed and folded themselves, and toilets were self-cleaning, this is what a week in my perfect world would look like:

Sunday: I wake up and have a big breakfast with Ryan before heading off to church. Church is fantastic...very uplifting. The singing is beautiful and we sing all my favorite songs (which should be easy since I have hundreds of them). After church we have a big delicious lunch before turning in for the regular Sunday afternoon nap. After waking up feeling completely relaxed and refreshed, we go for a walk outside because it is a beautiful day. It's always a beautiful day in this perfect world, sunny and low 80s. Next we have a huge snack before heading off to night church. Night church is followed by dinner with friends and a movie on the couch with Ryan before bedtime.

Monday: Wake up when I wake up (no alarm screaming at me to get out of bed). Head off to violin lessons. I'm getting pretty good and will probably be joining the symphony soon. After I play tennis with my girlfriends I meet my mom for lunch at a really good, girly-food restaurant. After lunch Mom and I go get pedicures and go shopping. Dinner is magically on the table when I get home and Ryan has had an equally fantastic day.

Tuesday: Once again, wake when I wake and go to art class. In the afternoon I go to the beach with friends. After a fun day in the sun my friends and I all meet our husbands at ballroom dance class and, surprisingly, the husbands are as excited about it as we are. Ryan and I are such great dancers. People are really getting jealous of how advanced we are. After class our families come over for dessert and game night. Everyone wants to be on my team because my team always wins.

Wednesday: Wednesdays consist of sign language class and cooking class. Once again, I'm great at both. Star of the class, you might say. Wednesday night I have Bible Study with my friends and Ryan with his, followed with Bunco for the girls and sports-watching for the boys.

Thursday: Start the morning off with breakfast and a devotional on the porch with Ryan, followed by a swim in our pool. On Thursdays I attend advanced German and intermediate French classes. Although, I probably should have skipped the intermediate course because, in my perfect world, I'm never "intermediate". I try not to overuse my voice in my language classes because on Thursday nights I'm Mary Poppins in the Broadway hit, Mary Poppins.

Friday: I sleep in because I'm exhausted from all the parties after the big show last night. I'm telling you, if my house didn't stay clean on it's own there is just no way I could handle all of this! Mid-morning on Friday I pack a picnic lunch and Ryan and I take it on our sailboat where we spend the day snorkeling and fishing with all our closest friends. We stay and watch the sun set before docking at a great local restaurant and enjoying a 2 hour, 6 course meal filled with story-telling and laughing til we cry moments.

Saturday: Take a morning jog on this beautiful day and then head to a sporting event that is filled with excitement and nail-biting moments. We eat hot dogs, nachos, ice cream and then our team wins. On Saturday night we get really dressed up and head to the theater because Ryan loves getting dressed up and going to the theater as much as I do...in my perfect world.

I have no words...

Speechless. Except that if this is how I had to get to work everyday, I'm thinking I would be arriving either really, really early or really, really late! Can you even imagine this kind of "rush hour"? I thought I was on some uncomfortably crowded trains in NYC and Europe...nothing compared to this! I love that the one guy won't give up on getting the other guy in that cart! Think about what they look like when they get to work...someone else's lipstick on their shirt, someone's sweaty arm in their face. What's the point with hairspray? I can see myself walking into that train all fixed up for work and looking professional and then stepping off with my hair all stuck up in the air, makeup running because I was crying from being stuck under someone's smelly arm pit, face blue from lack of oxygen, jacket torn from obvious reasons... Maybe I'll drive happily to work on time tomorrow. :)

Med School Easters

Easter 2008 - Dominica

Easter 2009 - Key West (we are friends, as stated in the sign behind us) :)

Easter 2010 - Atlanta

Guess what?? Easter 2011 - Ryan will be finished with his rotations and will just be relaxing and waiting to graduate medical school!!!!

Ryan and I grew up spending each and every holiday with our families, so you might think that we would be sad when a holiday rolls around and we are not in our favorite state - Tennessee. Well, even though our number one choice would always be to be with our family, we are so, so blessed to have an island family to celebrate holidays with. I really do see them as that - family. Because, think about it...what is a family? A group of people you have been with through great times and not so great times, who wants the best for each other, who you can say whatever you want in front of and make an idiot out of yourself and it doesn't change their opinion of you, who prays for each other, and basically just loves each other! :) Families, whether by birth or by circumstances, are the biggest blessing in our lives!

"You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each deeply with all your heart." 1 Peter 1:22

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day in Atlanta! The weather was perfect and the excitement of Christ conquering death could be seen in everyone's smile. We didn't sing this song in church on Sunday, but it was ringing through my head all weekend:

Saviour, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever, Author of Salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

JESUS CONQUERED THE GRAVE

And that is why I will always be happy on Easter, whether I'm in Dominica, Key West, Atlanta, or the opposite side of the earth... Jesus.