Letter from the Publisher: April 2022

"Home isn't a place, it’s a feeling"

Dear Readers,

With this issue every year, it feels like spring has sprung. Or, in the case of most Tennessee Aprils – it is certainly trying to! It’s no secret that the home industry in Williamson County is always and increasingly over the top. Over any number of years and even economic crisis, our community has seen the home building, home selling and home buying markets thrive and exceed most national thresholds of success. Houses, in general, have always been of interest to me - whether they be historic or simply beautiful. I love to know more about many of the houses surrounding us here in Williamson County.

Perhaps no other home in Williamson County enthralls me as much as Carnton. So, in writing this month’s home feature on Carnton, I remembered my own fascination with the house and my personal history there. We go on to honor community legend Robert Hicks in this issue, who passed away in February and left behind a legacy of contributing to the preservation of not only Carnton but our entire community – our home.

We make a home in many different ways and in many different measures, but wherever we make our home, the home itself represents more than brick and mortar, three bedrooms or six, a pool or zero lot line. In so many ways, a home represents who we are and what we value. When I think of home, I think of the different homes I grew up in, whether a grandparent’s or my family’s. These places, and our experiences there, define us. The antiques and other collections I have inherited from numerous family sources and those of my husband – gathered in the same manner, fill our home now, and each piece speaks to me when I encounter it within my own home’s walls. Photos of loved ones, important moments and indelible memories etched in our mind’s eye, become current in a moment when we pass them. Each house speaks to its inhabitants and all who visit there.

When spring does come, I think nearly everyone’s thoughts turn to home. It’s time to spruce up, re-plant, clean out, clean up and spit-shine everything, especially outdoors. Will we just plant more flowers this year or go all out and do a garden? I know I am always watching my rose and hydrangea bushes as soon as the weather turns warm, and it doesn’t truly feel like the season is here until I see those first buds. Yes, we all suffer thanks to the wonderful Tennessee pollen, but with red eyes and sniffing noses, we still welcome their colorful displays with glee every year.

With spring comes events, and I can think of no better occasion to showcase spring in Williamson County than the Main Street Festival. It is a two-day celebration of art, music and culture set against the backdrop of downtown Franklin and spring. It doesn’t get any better! And, of course, spring means rebirth and our acknowledgment of the true Resurrection through our Easter celebrations, also as synonymous with spring as any flower. I see all things new and reborn through the lens of Easter morning when the Lord is risen, and he is risen indeed!

Enjoy your spring, your home and garden, Williamson County and remember – don’t break out that white until Easter morning! NO matter how much you may want to! It just isn’t right.