Welcome Back, Opry Mills!
March 30, 2012
It’s been almost two years since the infamous Nashville Flood and today was a BIG day for the quaint little area of 37214 known as Donelson. Our mall reopened. Opry Mills is back and it is 10 times better than before!
For the past two years, tLG has been very concerned about the mall. She has asked me constantly about why it flooded, how it flooded, what happened to the stuff, what are they doing over there, will the mall open, when will the mall open, and what will it look like. However, the most common question is “Mommy, is Build-A-Bear coming back?” She was more concerned about this one store more than anything else. Bless her.
Let me tell you, two years is a long time for an adult to wait for something so it must have seemed like an eternity to a 5-year-old. So today, on opening day, I picked tLG up from school and headed straight to Opry Mills. She was cracking me up with how giddy she was. I heard “Look! Look!” every other second and that was just in the parking lot. As we walked toward the door, she was even more dramatic talking about how she “can hardly stand it.” As soon as we entered the building I swear you could hear her heart skip a beat. She was seriously beside herself and, honestly, I was too. It was a good feeling to be back in that mall. I don’t think I realized exactly how much I had missed it. Seeing all those people made me even more excited for my little part of town. This is big for Nashville and HUGE for Donelson (and hopefully my property value). :]
As promised, we headed straight to Build-A-Bear. tLG was practically dancing as we walked in. Right away she found a dog (of course) and I let her pull out all the stops for this build. She added a song, bought an outfit, and accessories. It was a special day and I wanted it to be memorable for her as well. I love this kid so much and seeing her excitement gave me that “happy in my heart” feeling. Her dog was given the name Chocolate Chunk and has not left her side all afternoon.
Oh and the mall…. it’s absolutely beautiful! I can’t wait to visit Opry Mills again. Soon!