Life after graduation (aka: 2 Kewl 4 Skewl).

Ah. Someone HELP ME. I'm having a serious case of "blank blog". I'm staring at my open template, in all of its empty glory, and I am at a loss for words.

The truth is, I feel like so much has happened in the last few months. SO much. It's like getting together with an old friend after a few years and realizing that you have nothing to talk about, because you have SO MUCH to talk about.

I apologize for being so M.I.A. lately. Life after graduation from college was a lot more of a whirlwind than I thought it would be. And I hate to say it, but.... I kind of forgot about this blog. I know, I know. CALM DOWN.

I'm back.

So, here's a quick, possibly semi-psychotic recap for you:

I graduated from Belmont University on May 4th. And I was blessed to be surrounded by so many loving family members and friends. It was such a wonderful weekend full of fun and family and friends and food (mostly food).

And pretty soon after that, I started my first part-time job as a college graduate at the historic Nashville venue, The Ryman Auditorium.

I loved it so incredibly much. The people I worked with were about as great as they come, and I was surrounded by music and history all day long. And I got to give tours about the music and the history of the place. All day long. It was so great. 

I learned so many wonderful facts that will probably be useful in a Trivial Pursuit game at some point. (Such as, did you know that Elvis once performed Bill Monroe's song, "Blue Moon of Kentucky", at The Ryman Auditorium in his rockabilly style... and the audience hated it so much, he was booed off the stage? Betcha didn't know that one).

Sadly, my time there was short-lived. I loved working at The Ryman, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do... and another opportunity came knockin', so I answered the door.

But not before I was given a proper goodbye:

 And then, I started working at my favorite grocery store in the entire world.

Trader Joe's.

So far, I'm loving it. Once again, the people I work with are about as fabulous as they come (how do I get so lucky??), and I'm surrounded by food all day long. It's not music, but food definitely comes in a close second for me. 

And I have such flexible hours and I can STILL WORK ON MY MUSIC, which is the most important thing of all. 

At some point in the middle of these two jobs, I went on a mini after-graduation vacation with some dear friends.

(Mel was there, too).

And I was also able to go take a short visit to see my wonderful grandparents in Lake George, NY.

And several people brought it to my attention that I was the "face" of Belmont's website for a short amount of time.

Hilarious.

And my best friend from middle school moved to Nashville. And we started living together in this cute, little house.

Let me say that again. MY BEST FRIEND FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL MOVED TO NASHVILLE AND WE STARTED LIVING TOGETHER. Life is so weird and so wonderful sometimes.

And at some other point, I bought a new ukulele.

Sadly, Pono had to be put down. He was damaged beyond repair. But this little guy will do the job.

And at some other point, the "royal baby" was born in England. And my Google Alert emails (which inform me every time my name, "Natalie Royal", shows up in an online article), started to drive me insane.

And finally, after working almost 60 hours a week between both of my part time jobs, I had a break. And I went home to Charlotte for the first time since Christmas.

And I was reunited with the love of my life.

(He was still in a state of shock when I snapped this photo. I don't think Yogi ever thought he'd see me again).

And after a couple of days in the Queen City, my mom and I hopped in our separate cars and drove to the annual Swannanoa Gathering for another week of music and friends and late nights and music and very little sleep and food and drinks and music.

I think I slept a combined total of 25 hours for the entire week. That may seem like a lot, but it's not.

Check out this awesome photo of mom and me. We're awake. I think.

(Mike was there, too).

There aren't enough words to describe how I feel about The Swannanoa Gathering. It is just the most magically musical place on this planet, I'm pretty sure. Every year, I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to return. For seven whole days, my head is cleared, my heart is opened, and I'm surrounded by some of the most lovely and inspirational people. Music is at the root of every Gathering, and everyone that attends is there for the same reason: For the love of music.

I love Nashville, but there's something so pure and so raw about a place like The Swannanoa Gathering. There's nothing commercial about it. No one is trying to "become famous" or "get a record deal" or "get a song cut". Everyone is just there to play music and to listen to music. Ah. No greater place on this planet.

And if you'd like to take a little listen, this is the song I did for the open mic night. It's a new one-- "Little Red Bird". Some of you may already know this... but shortly after my father passed, I started noticing cardinals everywhere. They would show up just when I needed them to, and it seemed as if it was, in some way, my dad just letting me know that he is "still here". He's still looking out for me. All the time.

I don't know where we go when we leave these bodies, but it is so comforting to feel surrounded by his presence all the time.

(For some reason, it won't let me embed the video into this post... so just click on the link: http://youtu.be/n63sijr54IE)

Ah. I'm still having Swannanoa withdrawals. Once again, I can't wait for next year to roll right back around. Not trying to speed up time or anything... just miss my Swanna-friends.

Well. That's all folks. I could have probably written an entire novel about the last couple of months, but I don't know how interesting that would have been for you. This is about all I could muster after just one cup of coffee.

Bottom line: life is still wonderful.

I'll try to write here more often. Once I get started, filling up a blank blog page is not as daunting a task as it seems. It's actually quite fun.

Love to each and every one of you on this fabulous, Tuesday morning.

<3
Nat