Adjusting to Nashville Tennessee
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 I would get, but not the case. When it came time to picking a location for putting down roots and building a lasting community, I decided to go to Nashville where my only son lives and was likely to stay. I figured one of the best gifts you can give to your child is to make it as easy as possible for them to provide whatever support needed with aging.
I moved in August 2020, mid pandemic and have not had the opportunity to build my community yet but have benefited greatly from living 1 mile from my son.
I am a liberal, progressive, feminist who uses the pronouns she, her and hers. I understood that Nashville was more progressive than the rest of the state as most larger cities are. Tennessee mandated fewer Covid restrictions than the DC Metro area where I moved from but Nashville had mandatory mask requirements so I felt reasonably safe moving. I made it through getting a driver’s license, changing car registration, voter registration, voting in 2020 election, as well as getting my health care established, finding a hair salon and have a great personal trainer.
I have been visiting my son in Nashville since 2004 so I have gradually gotten used to the “mam”ing, particularly by children. While it was initially very uncomfortable, I grew accustomed to it. I was so amazed at the pleasantness of the customer service at a CVS store that I have continued use it even though it is no longer convenient. As I branched out to visiting more stores over a period of months, the positive quality of customer service compared to the DC area was consistent. All is good.
The fact that I was now living in a Red State came crashing into my world when I heard about this story on WPLN the local NPR station — https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/18/tennessee-abortion-bill-fathers-would-get-veto-no-rape-exception/6796871002/
Did I mention I was a feminist? The females’ unique ability to get pregnant and give birth is necessary for the survival of us as humans but as natural as this process is, it is not without significant risks to the mother. I believe it is absolutely the woman’s decision as to whether she wishes to have sex, get pregnant and have a child. I also believe it should be the woman’s decision whether she wants to have vaginal childbirth or an elective C-section. Laws such as above are about male power above all else.
The importance of state politics has never been as clear as it is right now. We all need to pay very close attention to the state elections. We must support younger persons in seeking elected office. I have always lived in Blue states (or at least they were when I lived in them) so I am going to have to figure out the most effective way of using my voice in Tennessee where it might make a difference.
