Summer2026 Trip#2 Nashville TN

 

2nd summer trip - Keaton and Mom drove to Nashville for Keaton's new student orientation. It's a long drive, y'all!! Fortunately, we have friends we can overnight with in Dallas. It was so good to catch up with Steve and Lisa. Thanks guys for the beds, the meals, the laughs, the memories and the Dr. Pepper! 

When we finally got to Nashville we were ready to take on the day, excited to hear about what Keaton's first year at Lipscomb would be like. We found out who his roommate will be. Met his RA. Tried to orient ourselves with the student center vs. the dorm vs. the building where his computer lab is.

The campus is small, but beautiful brick buildings and trees line every walkway. People are super friendly. Reminds me a lot of the campus I lived on for 3 years in Arkansas. School colors are purple and gold. The mascot for Keaton's new school is the Bison. (My school in Arkansas was the Bison too.) So now he's part of the "herd". Odd though, the little hand signal they give each other when someone says "Go Bison!" looks a lot like the University of Texas at Austin "hook 'em horns" hand signal. I don't know where it originated, but for this life-long Texas Tech fan, it felt a little awkward for me to hold up my fist in the UT (TTU rival) gang sign.

I think the orientation is as much for the parents as it is for the student. Lots of talk about the university goals for the well being of the student, heart, soul and mind. I did get the sense the faculty and staff really do care about these kids. We even got to meet with the faculty in the animation department. And Keaton walked away from that meeting saying something along the lines of "I feel like I finally found my people." Not a direct quote, but pretty close. The head of animation spoke to the reality of how even though he wasn't always taking the jobs in animation for the exact type of work he loved, he could always find work. And that he has continually been able to support his wife and three children. That sat well with me as a parent. They are concerned that these kids don't just get a degree, but that they learn the transferrable skills to actually find a job and support themselves. Listening to this professor share his story also gave Keaton confidence that he can pursue his art as a career and still have a family someday. Hours and hours of sitting through Q&As and departmental resources and we were both pretty spent. I will be honest, it was a lot of information and not much food or drink. I was tired, dehydrated and getting a bit loopy by 3 or 4pm.

All in all, though, it was a worthwhile trip. And priceless time I got to spend with Keaton chatting in the car. We also listened to the audio book of "Project Hail Mary". Surprisingly, I liked it a lot. Okay, I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, but the audio production was pretty amazing. It was so interesting and engaging and more importantly, Keaton loved that I loved the book. (He is a huge fan.) One of my friends watched the movie and was not impressed, so maybe I won't like the movie as much....will let you know once it is released to streaming.

We are still praying for the remaining funds to come in to cover the 2nd semester. CLICK HERE TO DONATE. Today Keaton turned in a scholarship application from our church's foundation. Hopefully that will come through. If not this semester, he can apply again in the spring. He had to write an essay describing what he wants to do and why. Plus he also had to explain how he is active in church and what activities he has pursued. He is realizing (and said as much to me this past week) that serving others really gives him joy. Moreso than the accolades from graduation or the achievements or certificates. This really warms my heart. My friends and I often reminisce on this - - the natural lift we feel in our hearts when we take time to serve others on a mission trip or in small ways in our day-to-day. How we have learned to be deliberate about giving to others, lest we drift in our own spiritual walk. It's good to know that I've passed some of that along to my son(s).

At the end of our time in Nashville, the school's president recited the Aaronic blessing. So I'll leave you with this also. Peace.

Numbers 6:24-26 "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."