Christmas Eve in Athens, GA: Five Years Later

Five years ago tonight, I posted the original version of this image to my Flickr stream.

This is what you see when you drive through the center of town at midnight on Christmas Eve: festive decorations, welcoming shop windows, and no people.

I found myself at this intersection on the way home from the hospital, where Lori had just come out of life-saving open heart surgery. She had stabilized, and had made the transition from anesthesia to the medication she’d be on for the next week. As Lori drifted off to sleep, the nursing team sent me home for the night. (Our house was just on the other side of downtown.)

Thanks to everyone who helped us make it through these past five years.