Author Archives: tbavendam

I have been waiting to get my first vaccination. I was fortunate to get the antibody infusion on January 11 when I had Covid. I had to wait 90 days to get vaccinated and got my first dose of the Pfizer vaccination this morning through Vanderbilt. It was a very well organized operation. I haveContinue reading “Vaccination Day”

Intermittent bladder infections have been a part of my life since grade school – 5th grade I think. I would go to the doctor in my town of 700 residents. The office was one room in his home and he would dispense sulfa tablets in a little envelope from his office. The symptoms would resolveContinue reading “What I learned on a flight to Phoenix”

Last night I had the opportunity to go backstage at Grand Ol Opry and observe my fabulous daughter in law, Natalie, in the preparation for her hosting roles on Grand Ol Opry Live AND perform as a member of Runaway June. It was the first time since the pandemic started that artists were allowed toContinue reading “Glimpses of returning to normal”

Thursday I took my government issued equipment (one mobile, one iPad, one Dell tablet and one PC laptop) to FedEx to have shipped back to DC. It feels good to have one computer, one reading device and one mobile phone. I am working hard to readjust to the Mac OS as I have spent mostContinue reading “The end of Chapter 8 – for real”

I am having my second cup of coffee on my deck for the first time. Sun shining through the branches that do not yet have leaves. Gorgeous. I woke up this morning thinking about the storytelling as one of the reasons I started this blog. My mother and father were neither one storytellers. Consequently, IContinue reading “Storytelling”

I was born in California when my father was in the USAF and moved to Iowa when I was 2 weeks old. I consider myself native of Iowa. I left Iowa when I was 30 and have lived in CA, WA, PA, NY, and MD. I thought MD would be as far “south” as IContinue reading “Tennessee is a Red State”

My son moved to Nashville in 2004 so I have had plenty of opportunities to visit Nashville but my visits were primarily summer or winter. For the past month, being able to sleep with my window open and wake up to the sounds of bird chirping has been wonderful. Today as I was still partiallyContinue reading “My first spring in Nashville”

I cannot take off on my travels until I get my first vaccination. I had Covid December/January and was fortunate to get the antibody infusion on Jan 11. Thus I cannot get my first vaccine until after April 11th. After my first vaccination, I will go to DC for a medical procedure I cannot getContinue reading “On hold until I can get vaccinated”

What was I looking forward to most in leaving federal service? I couldn’t wait be to able to speak without worrying if I was saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time. My comfort zone is gray. I have a strong ethical core and rudder so in general I do notContinue reading “Why “Unleashed”?”

In Iowa in the 60’s and early 70’s opportunities for organized sports for girls were limited. In small high schools, half-court basketball was available for girls. Three players per team on each end of the court. One end of court playing offense and the other playing defense. It was apparently felt that girls were notContinue reading “Finding my sport”