Dr. Holland's Opuses (or is that Opi?)

Can you remember a time when things seemed normal, but you just new something was not right? Our last Saturday in Memphis was one of those times...Karen had promised to take me to my favorite BBQ restaurant, Central BBQ, for dinner at 'about 5:30'. Earlier that afternoon, she mentioned that she was going to wear a particular dress (TO BARBECUE?). Naturally I was confused, and being tired from packing, etc., I simply asked if what I had on was okay. I ended up changing...Clue #1 that something was weird...

Clue #2 came at about 5:15...remember 'about 5:30' from before? Well, around 5:15, Karen decides she needs to take a nap (WHAT???) yes, a nap. So when Karen wants to nap, Karen naps, unless the kids are wild and noisy. Something definitely weird in the air...

She woke up about 20 minutes later (quite the power-napper), and instructed Nicholas to clean his room (little did I know he was in on the whole thing, and she actually told him to TAKE HIS TIME cleaning his room). Nicholas was heading to a sleepover birthday party after dinner, so he had to pack his bag as well. By this point, I'm perplexed, but I'm also focused on dinner. Central BBQ tends to dull the senses...

We finally head to dinner, WHICH WAS AWESOME as always. At one point,  I got up to get some more sweet tea. Karen received a text message which she said was an invitation for Nicholas to our church for a special youth thing...I chuckled a bit to myself, weighing sleepover vs. a youth thing at church. Seemed to be a slam dunk for the sleepover in my mind.  Imagine my supreme shock when Karen told me that he actually wanted to go by the church for a bit, and then go to the sleepover.  At this point, I'm convinced that there must have been a lunar eclipse and my family just wasn't themselves...but hey, there was BBQ.  Off to church we go...

We arrive, are heading to the door, and Karen says "Nicholas, be my gentleman and open the door". I of course couldn't be outdone, so I beat him to it, opened the door, and the kids walked in. Karen stopped a few feet in front of the door, and motioned for me to go in.  I think I started to exclaim "What in the world is wrong with..." when I looked inside and saw a bunch of my former students, representing nearly every year I taught at the University of Memphis! Robin Smith, Becca Smith, and Lindsey Hays, some of my former students planned this whole thing, and Karen did an amazing job of pulling off the surprise!

I was absolutely blown away - Carol Rakestraw greeted me instantly, and made me go around the room and say everyone's name and their instrument...and thankfully, I did it!

 I spent the next couple of hours visiting with dear friends, great students, and folks that I have a lifetime of memories with, and here are just a few!

There are many more here in this slideshow - I hope you enjoy! I will never forget it, and THANK YOU to all that could come, and that helped make it happen. Go Tigers!