Tender Tennessee Christmas?

Since Taylor has been with his airline, he's had relatively good luck with having holidays off. Sometimes he'll miss an "eve" but make it for the "day," or part of the accompanying weekend. For Thanksgiving, he had three days off. He flew in to ONT Wednesday morning at 4 am, and flew out of LAX Friday morning at 4 am. It is difficult to spend so much time commuting, especially because it typically involves pickups/dropoffs at early and strange hours. Since he's been in MEM, he's had much better luck jumpseating on FedEx than on Delta....and those flights are usually during the inconvenient hours.

Last week he got his December schedule, which made us happy and sad. Happy because he has 16 days off (for the first time since he was domiciled at DTW). Sad because he is scheduled on 4-day trips over both Christmas and New Years. He'll be overnighting in Nashville Christmas Eve, and Knoxville New Years Eve. It doesn't make sense for Rosie and I to fly out to be with him....he's flying multiple legs December 24, 25, 31 and January 1. My first (sarcastic) thought was "Another tender Tennessee Christmas," a song I love off of Amy Grant's Christmas album. Amy makes it sound so idyllic...for Taylor it will mean nights alone in a Hampton Inn or Fairfield Inn.

Come on weatherman,give us a forecast snowy white.
Can't you hear the prayers of every childlike heart tonight?
Rockies are calling, Denver snow falling,
Somebody said it's four feet deep.
But it doesn't matter, give me the laughter;
I'm gonna choose to keep

Another tender Tennessee Christmas,
The only Christmas for me.
Where the love circles around us like the gift around our tree.
Well I know there's more snow up in Colorado
Than my roof will ever see,
But a tender Tennessee Christmas is the only Christmas for me.

Every now and then, I got a wanderin' urge to see
Maybe California, maybe tinsel town's for me.
There's a parade there, we'd have it made there;
Bring home a tan for New Year's Eve.
Sure sounds exciting, awfully inviting,
Still I think I'm gonna keep

Another tender Tennessee Christmas,
The only Christmas for me.
Where the love circles around us like the gift around our tree.
Well they say in L.A.it's a warm holiday;
It's the only place to be.
But a tender Tennessee Christmas is the only Christmas for me.
(Ohh, you know I wanna be home.)