It’s been a little over a year since my family and I made Knoxville our home. I kept waiting for the rose-colored glasses to fall off, but the longer I’m here, the more I’ve fallen in love with our beautiful home. Coming from Texas, there are so many commonalities, but I have found Tennessee to be a place where I truly feel at home. Life can be hard and sometimes isolating, but we have been so blessed to meet so many new people with such a loving open heart. I’m not sure if it’s that “Southern charm or Southern hospitality,” but everywhere we go we seem to find a person with a smile and a kind word to say. I have to admit that it’s been a long while since I’ve heard a “You sure have your hands full” or some other passive comment in a disapproving tone. If anything, my family and I have heard gracious people say “What a beautiful family” or “What a blessing” and it’s made life so much sweeter while we’re out and about with our crew.
Toting our six kids around can be a bit of a challenge at times, but I never feel like we are taking up too much space or moving too slowly through the grocery aisles like we did before in our old place. Sometimes it’s a beautiful thing to take a step back and let life move a little slower. Just being able to sit down together as a family to share a meal in all the chaos around us can provide a moment of reassuring peace.
There is so much busyness that goes on in today’s time that a moment to look around and see people or have a conversation with a passerby reminds you that we are human and need each other now more than ever.
Don’t forget to see the “person” in the person that bags your groceries at the store or your server at the restaurant. Make a point to acknowledge people if you can and spare a quick word of encouragement because times are tough and that human connection could make a world of difference. I feel that people here make more of an effort to acknowledge people as human beings and I think that’s so beautiful, and it’s taught me to be more that way. 
So far, Knoxville has felt like a place for family.
Sure, every place has its negative, but I don’t feel it overshadows the good that’s still here. I think a big portion of our love for the area has come from finding a wonderful church family and plenty of people encouraging our growth as parents and our faith. I love the opportunity we have here being so close to state parks and nature trails so that we can enjoy our time out without having to spend a ton of money. With how hard everyone has been hit by the economy, it is a blessing to be able to conserve funds for rising grocery costs, yet still be able to enjoy living and spending time with family.
I feel like our area has activities for every budget even when your entertainment fund is slated for zero dollars every month; it requires creativity, but it’s not impossible. Sometimes our family gets so much joy just going for a walk and observing all the beauty we have in our state’s landscape. Getting fresh air can do so much for mental health. We have felt the effects of a difficult season in life, as well as changes in the stress load in our nation, but we still feel hope and unmistakable joy that lives in our hearts and the hearts of many of our neighbors here in Knoxville and it remains as such an encouragement to us. 
