Fielder’s Choice

I came across an old photo last week. It was taken on a playground in Laurel. Emma was in third grade and Andy in kindergarten.

The memories started flowing in my mind.

And also I suddenly considered, “My, how time flies!”

About 19 years after that photo, Pam and I just helped Emma moved into her house. She’s officially a homeowner in North Little Rock, Ark.

Soon, we will be assisting Andy in a move from Jackson to Tupelo. And in November, he will be getting married to the love of his life, Brooke Bullock. We will happily welcome a daughter-in-law to the family.

And then there’s Erin, our baby. She didn’t enter the world until our move to Holly Springs. Definitely difficult to fathom, she will begin her senior year of high school this week.

Things have been rather hectic for the Burlesons lately, and the busy schedule is showing no signs of slacking up.

Pam and I left early last Thursday morning for North Little Rock. We accompanied Emma for the closing on the house. It was indeed a special moment, a huge accomplishment for Emma, when she was handed the keys to her house.

Just two years ago we moved her into a third-floor apartment just prior to her starting her new job in downtown Little Rock at the federal building.

We wised up this time around. We hired a moving company to carry the furniture and the bulk of the boxes down those stairs.

Friday was a work day at the house prior to the furniture arriving. I will admit; Pam and Emma did the bulk of the work. But I assisted in the painting of a couple of rooms.

I went to bed sore Friday night, from all that reaching and standing on that small stepladder, and woke up sore Saturday morning.

We spent the bulk of the day Saturday, after the moving company finished its job, getting things situated in the house. Needless to say, Pam and Emma handled most of the kitchen stuff. I had to nail a few nails and help hang some artwork.

The moving wrapped up Sunday, with just a few things left behind for Emma to handle on her own.

We were blessed to meet a couple of her kind neighbors in what appears to be a great neighborhood.

One of the best parts of Sunday was when Emma picked up her dog, Betty, who had been boarding, and turned her loose in the fenced-in backyard. It’s big step up from an apartment, for Betty, too.

We’re not exactly sure when our part in the next move, for Andy, will take place. It could be this weekend. He is waiting on his transfer notice from Renasant Bank.

He has rented an apartment in downtown Tupelo. His fiancée, Brooke, is already in Tupelo, living with some good friends of ours and working for the Girl Scouts.

As for Erin, she was getting a bit tense Sunday night, thinking about all the things on the agenda this week prior to the start of school and suddenly realizing, “This is my senior year.”

She’s involved in many, many things. And she’s starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. But once she gets in the groove of a new year, she will be just fine. One thing is certain. It will fly by.