Greetings from South Carolina!
Down here, we call it the Lowcountry. People on the news call it part of the Coastal Empire. We tell people who don't know where it is that we live in Hilton Head. That sounds snooty enough. For everyone else, we live in Bluffton.
Bluffton, SC, is now our hometown. And we love it!
It's hard to believe, but it's now coming up on 2 months since we've moved. And I haven't communicated a whole lot with the outside world during that time, as we've been consumed with getting our new house in order.
We left December 4, and spent a week in Nashville, TN, to watch our son and daughter-in-law graduate from college. Set to close on our house December 12, things got a little bit hairy with underwriting during that last week. (Anyone who's ever gotten a mortgage knows what I'm talking about.) So we arrived in Bluffton on Sunday night, Dec. 11, not knowing if we would actually have a place to live following the next day.
But, as God always does, He provided, and smiled, and we closed on Monday evening. After, as it would happen, the builder's office closed, so we couldn't get the keys! Finally, they dropped them off in the new mailbox (which is more than the Post Office could do, but that's for later.) So there wasn't any big key ceremony. We grabbed them, unlocked the door and walked in.
And thus began the next journey in our lives. And it's been great! It's been wonderful, exhilarating, frustrating, fun, exhausting, and exciting all at the same time! The events of our lives over the past two years had put us so much in flux that we didn't really know what all we had until we got here and unpacked it all. So we've had fun rediscovering things we'd forgotten we owned, shopping for things we realized we needed, and unpacking old favorites and memories. It's been a ride.
And the weather here has absolutely rocked! It's been as advertised and then some. Everywhere I go, the locals peg me as a Northerner because I'm always wearing shorts and short-sleeves. Even the chilly days would be days we would rejoice over in Indiana in December and January. With the exception of some hairy storms that roamed throughout the South a week or so ago, most of the days have been mostly sunny, with temps in the 60's and 70's. The chilly days here have been in the 50's with the occasional dip into the 40's. Absolutely beautiful.
Christmas came and went without much fanfare from us this year. We just got here too late in the cycle to really get into the season, and before we knew it, it was over. But, we had our kids and some of Ginger's family in town with us, so at least we got to share some of it with loved ones.
The boys and the daughter-in-law showed up and worked their tails off for 3 weeks. And for that, I'm deeply thankful, and sorry that the time wasn't more jovial than it was. But I was glad they were here. We love that Cody is nearby, and visits often with his new squeeze: a precious little Carolina girl with a killer southern accent! And we can't wait to see Cory and Amanda again.
It's taking time for Grandma Jean to acclimate. She loves the weather and the house as we do, but misses her grandbabies. I don't blame her. And she is not as familiar with the area as we are, so it's taking her time to get her bearings. But little by little she's coming along, and if you've been following along on Facebook, you know that she recently purchased her some new toys, which has perked her spirits. Won't be long for Grandma!
The house is just fantastic! We love it beyond measure, and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. And we've had a blast furnishing and decorating it. I love it so much that right now, I don't care if I ever go anywhere again! I love it right here.
I've begun my sales efforts here locally, and have already made some sales and met with some great business people. I've no worries at all about how things will go. And business from my clientele in Indy has been brisk, so all is well right now on that front.
There have been some setbacks. First and foremost was the post office. Apparently, nobody in the history of mankind has ever built a new home, because our doing so threw the USPS into a complete tizzy! Even with a big, black, shiny, new mailbox installed by our builder before we ever arrived, and even though we are just one block away from an existing mail route, delivering mail to us was unfathomable to them during those first few weeks. But, after much arguing and huffing and puffing (and many trips to the post office) I think we finally got it all worked out.
Second was the license branch. Drop what you're doing right now, go to your closest branch and kiss one of the workers smack on the lips, and then, write a letter to former Governor Daniels for streamlining things so well in Indiana, because, believe me, you don't know how good you have it until you have to go back to the way it USED to be in Indiana.
Long waits, ridiculous amounts of paperwork and red tape just to get a license and registration here. My 75-year-old mother clearly looks like a terrorist to these people because despite her current legal Indiana license AND her birth certificate AND her Social Security card AND her new mortgage papers, they insisted she produce a copy of her marriage license from 1962 just to prove her name change 50 years ago. Oh yes they did.
But we got it all worked out, and aside from those couple items, everything else here has been fantastic.
And to the most pressing question we've been asked: Yes, Ginger feels better. She picked up the cold bug a couple weeks after we got here, and she's had a headache or two from time to time. We weren't naive enough to believe she'd instantly be healed of all her ills and never feel sick again, but overall she's felt much better than before, and doesn't nearly have the daily struggle she had with Indiana weather.
Yes, it's been good. And being here has been everything we'd hoped it would be and more.
I miss friends and family. But I want to make a confession now publicly: I don't miss the stage. For the last 25 years of my life it just seemed that I was on the mic for one thing or another seemingly every day. Either I was playing guitar with some band, or announcing a football or basketball game, or DJing someone's wedding, or talking on the radio, or emceeing some community event and playing worship every Sunday.
And please know this: I loved it all. I truly did. I love all those things. I've cherished every wedding, every gig, every game. But together, I just got wore out. I was very tired, and I was desperately ready for a break. The myth about me has always been that I looked for the spotlight. But the truth is that the spotlight always found me because it's what I'm good at. Some people are good at fixing brakes, or drywalling, or designing the next big technology. I'm good at singing, and playing, and talking to crowds. It's just what I do. I was proud to do it, but I needed to step away.
Perhaps someday I'll miss it all tremendously. I've learned to never say never. And I'll be playing music in my first worship service here in just a couple weeks. But for now, it's very nice to just be anonymous for awhile. I'm really enjoying being out of the limelight, just being a regular guy. Someday I might seek again. Right now, I just wanna play for me.
So I've set up my drums, and my guitars, in my Reds Room, just for me. For when I want to go and just play, and not have to work. And I have a few things lined up to scratch the itch, should it occur. In a few weeks, I'll be home to emcee the Spotlighter Invitational, which is something I'm really looking forward to. And on July 4, I'm coming back to emcee and play for the celebration and fireworks at Pioneer Park. Because I choose to. That's nice.
So, meanwhile, we are now officially open for business! We are ready for our friends and family to come and visit. The house is unpacked and decorated, and the guest bedrooms are ready to be utilized! For those who wondered before... no, we were not kidding or just "being nice." We REALLY want people to come down for a stay, so we can show off a little about what made us fall in love with this place. If you've ever been to this area, you already know. If you've never been, you're in for a treat.
So come on down! Give us a buzz or drop us a line and let us know when you're coming, just so we can make sure someone else hasn't already spoken for your bed. If we're full up when you want to come down, there's plenty of places I can recommend for you to stay while you're here. Otherwise, our home is your home.
(The only caveat is that we aren't allowing smoking anywhere on the property. Sorry, but even out on the porch, the smoke can really get to Ginger and Grandma. My house, my rules, I guess you could say, but I know you all understand and appreciate your sensitivity in this matter.)
There's lots to see and do, but I do have to work, so even though I'm pretty flexible with my schedule, you might have to entertain yourselves a bit while you're here. But if we can't get out to show you around each day, we'll point you in the right directions, and just enjoy the fellowship!
Now that we're settled in, I'll be sure to try to check in a little more and keep you all updated on how things are going here, and perhaps, you'll keep me posted on how things are back in Mooresville. Remember, you can take the boy out of the town, but...
Cheers. See you soon!
