Finding My Little Piece of Home…One
Moment at a Time
Leaving
Wilmington isn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it certainly hasn’t been
the most pleasant either. Wilmington has
been my home for the past ten years.
Having grown up in a military (aka traveling) family, I’ve never known a
home to be a location for any length of time.
For the most part, as a child and even as a teenager, I appreciated this
lifestyle and enjoyed the diversity that it added to my life. This, however, has been a very different experience.
I moved to
Wilmington fresh out of high school when I was eighteen years old. When somebody asks, “where did you grow up?” I
give one of two answers… “I was in a military family…so everywhere,” or as I’ve newly come to understand, “I lived
in Wilmington from 18 to 28 and THAT is when you REALLY grow up.” It’s true.
That’s where my life seemed to begin.
College, a career, a passion (which has since almost faded from my life)
for surfing and the ocean altogether, a teaching job that I learned so much
from, my husband, our children, our church and some of the very best friends
for which a girl could ask.
(Please forgive me if I failed to put a picture of you in here...if you are in my life in Wilmington and I love you then I hope you know I love you! These were just some of my most recent pictures I had for the blog)
No, leaving
Wilmington has not been easy. There are
so many things I miss about that place…It’s a place filled with so many very
special memories. I miss knowing people
when we are out and about. I miss
knowing how to get from point A to point B without taking a wrong turn. I miss
having favorite spots. I miss walking
down the street and knowing our neighbors by name. I miss our church, where we were members our
entire marriage – and attended regularly before that. I miss the ocean air and the atmosphere of
being at the beach. I miss our
sidewalks. I miss knowing where every gas station was, where the grocery stores
were, the back roads to any place I wanted to get to. I miss going to El Cerro
Grande and having a favorite server. I
miss quick trips to The Fuzzy Peach. I
miss pulling into my favorite access at Kure Beach. I miss the river. I miss the sunset. I miss our tiny quaint little house – jammed packed with memories. I miss my friends. I miss my children’s friends (aka my friend’s
children J)
I miss feeling local. I miss a
sense of security that ‘home’ seemed to offer. I miss my impromptu adventures with
friends and play dates with friends…
It’s been
difficult. We’ve been in Kernersville
for one month today and I’m still missing all of those things listed
above. I’m making an effort as best as I
can, but I miss all of those things. I
go out on little ‘adventures’ and sometimes feel so defeated by this place as I
make a wrong turn and wonder where I am. This house is beautiful and we are
fortunate, but what I realized I miss the most about our old house is that it
was filled with memories…memories that this place hasn’t had the opportunity to
experience.
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| First Movie Night |
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| Playing in the front yard |
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| First 'cook out' on July 4th |
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| Trying the new park |
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| Ms. Mary's Annual Childrens Parade |
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| Enjoying the new "playroom" |
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| A little cooking... |
I have no doubt
that this will continue to be difficult for some time to come, but what I know
is this…That old saying, “Home is where the heart is” has to be true. I hope
that we will quickly fill this house and town with beautiful and fond memories.
Just last night Nathan was giving Asher
& Nolan a bath and I heard Nathan playing with them and the boys were
squealing and laughing and I saw a glimpse of hope. They ARE my heart. Those three people (and that one little girl
growing inside of me) are my everything and they are here…which means THIS MUST
BE THE BEST PLACE FOR ME!
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