Ten years ago TODAY we landed in North Carolina. We had packed everything we owned into a u-haul truck and our Scion clown car and we moved across the country, Diana, Delanie, me and our two beagles (one of which was handicapped).
We left Texas in the rear view mirror, and we ain’t been back. (That REALLY sounds like a line from an old country song!)
As with any new start, We left behind friends and failure, story and celebration.
The last few years in Texas had been really hard. But, tough times don’t last forever.
We felt beat up and beat down, we felt done.
It was clearly time for a do-over. Fortunately, God does do-overs! Everything changed with one phone call from our friend, Angela. She invited us to discover Durham. She was opening an office and wanted Diana to join in the adventure. That is why we moved to North Carolina. We had visited, but we really didn’t think we would ever live there. By this time, as a family, we had lived in Virginia (it IS for lovers, you know!), Oklahoma, Indiana (for a brief moment in time), Oklahoma AGAIN, and ALL over the Republic of Texas.
I remember as we got closer to the East coast we saw something we hadn’t seen in a while…trees. Delanie rolled her eyes every time we gushed about the foliage.
Speaking of trees, we learned that you can’t have too many roots, and it’s never too late to put down more.
We planted some new roots.
When we moved, I didn’t have anything job wise lined up in NC. I was leaving a really cool church plant and a semi promising telemarketing career behind, I was finishing up a book and I was pretty sure I would soon be a full time, bestselling author. (Now two books later, I’m still waiting for THAT to happen!). I ended up working at a fun park with some really amazing high school and college students who taught me a whole lot.
I got my first tattoo in Raleigh (and my second and my third).
I was the editorial cartoonist for the Raleigh newspaper, that was a cool dream come true.
We were smitten with the state, so much history, so much beauty. We were a few hours away from the mountains OR the beach!! It’s ALSO a great place to live if you are a sports fan! We went to Hurricanes Hockey games, Bulls baseball games AND we sit through EVERY Angels softball game, those were our favorites…Delanie played for the Angels. She was a fantastic catcher.
Durham was a tough time for Del, she was a middle schooler in a new town. But, tough times don’t last forever.
After two and a half years, we moved to Charlotte.
I started a wild adventure as a 44 year old middle school pastor.
We reunited with some incredible friends, and we have made a bunch of new friends and picked up some new family members along the way.
We discovered NASCAR!!
We became big Panthers fans (even when they aren’t winning).
God has set us up with a house and a yard.
We can’t wait to see what the next ten years hold.
More joy, more stories, more art.
AND a new little human to share it all with!!!
Our first grandchild will make her public appearance in a few months in North Carolina.
We have now officially lived in the Tar Heel State longer as a family more than anywhere else.
Our roots go deep and they go wide and now they have the unmistakable tint of Carolina blue.
carbonated joy 