Make Yourself At Home
You guys, I love it here.
Sunday morning, I woke up without an alarm. Josh and I drove down to Dilworth, where we bought iced coffee and warm bagels and walked through Freedom Park until we found a picnic table with the right amount of shade. We watched as a dad taught his son how to ride a bike without training wheels.
The first lap, the kid had his training wheels down and his confidence up, pedaling as fast as his little legs could pump, tearing around corners and yelling over his shoulder to make sure his dad was still behind him.
The second lap, the training wheels were up, and the little boy whined each time the dad tried to let go. “Not yet not yet not yet” he kept saying, his voice getting higher each time he squeaked out his plea.
The third lap, he and his dad were tag-teaming a pep talk. “You can do this!” the dad said. “You’re already doing it! This is the way the big boys ride their bikes, and you’re a big boy!”
“Yeah!” agreed the kid. “This is the big boy way!”
I caught Josh’s eye and grinned. “I am so, so happy here.”
I love Charlotte. I love our little house with the big yard. I love being so close to family and friends. I love having people over to our house! To grill out or watch TV or just because we’re so nearby and it’s more fun to sit around with friends than by ourselves.
I have a running buddy now. We jog through the same fancy neighborhood a few times a week, picking out our favorite houses and talking about life the way you do when you’re with a friend.
I have a favorite coffeeshop, quirky and open 24/7, where I can sit and read and feel surrounded by all the things I thought I would miss so terribly about Asheville.
Moving to Charlotte was definitely the smartest decision for us. I knew I would feel comfortable here, more like an adult, responsible and secure and eventually settled in. But I worried about leaving Asheville – my home! The city I loved so much for so long! It was scary to let go – I had plenty of my own “Not yet not yet not yet” moments between then and now. But now that we’ve explored, settled in, taken a few laps around our new city, I know that this is just the start of our Charlotte adventure.
And I am so, so happy here.
