It was early June of 2014. My wife and I were having a discussion. In the past year and a half, we'd lost no less than than three dear friends and family members to tragic, all-too-early deaths. Our oldest son was already out of the house off to college, and in just a couple years, our younger son would leave the nest as well. We'd dreamed of moving and living near the ocean for nearly 25 years, mostly because of the benefits to the Mrs.' health, but also because we were beginning to realize that tomorrow is never promised. And we wanted to make a better life for ourselves. And now we were ready. We realized we could either do it, or still be sitting around 10 years later talking about doing it, if the Good Lord let us live that long.
So we put our house of 18 years up for sale. We moved into a temporary home, and rental from my Mom. A year later, in the summer of 2015, that home flooded, and we lost about 3/4 of our possessions. It galvanized our resolve even further. It was time to move to greener pastures -- or in our case, sandier beaches!
After another year of wrangling and moving from one temporary place to another, and through the sheer grace of God aligning all the stars in our favor, we did it. We packed up what we owned, our dog, and my mother, and we moved to the ocean.
December 12, 2016. Four years ago. It doesn't seem that long, and yet, it almost seems a lifetime ago. Our entire lives, our entire existence, is totally different from the life we lived in Indiana.
I lived in Mooresville, IN, for the first 47 years of my life. My wife and I were born and raised there. It was the only life we'd ever known. Now, four years removed, it almost seems as foreign to me as did living by the ocean 25 years ago.
Please don't read anything into what I'm about to say in the next few paragraphs: I will always cherish Mooresville, IN. It was a wonderful place in which to grow up and raise a family. We still dearly love and miss family and friends who are still there. I have deep friendships and tight business colleagues with whom I communicate regularly. And it's always nice to see our loved ones when we visit. Our move was never about Mooresville, or Indiana, or the people or places.
It was about us.
But Indiana is not our home anymore. Bluffton, South Carolina is our home now. And we love it! Four years here have entrenched us in the Lowcountry life. Dern-near perfect weather year round, friendly people, robust business, and a vibe in the culture that simply cannot be explained until you live in it every day. We're literally minutes away from some of the coolest places you'll ever visit, like Savannah, GA, not to mention pristine beaches. The ocean and the salt air have done for my wife's health exactly what we'd hoped. And living in the sunshine almost daily never hurt anybody.
The community has accepted us with open arms, as they do everybody, it seems. No one is in a hurry. Everybody is nice all the time. Sure, it's not perfect. There's some black holes in the universe, as there are anywhere. But the positives FAR outweigh the negatives. I've made new friends. Gotten involved in a great church family. Found opportunities to play music -- on my terms! My business has flourished here, as the opportunities for small business people seem almost endless. And even though it surprises my friends and family back in Indy, I do not miss one iota being Mr. Microphone. Not one bit. I had my days on the stage and behind the mic. They were great. I'm not sad they're over.
Mostly, I get to hang out with my wife almost everyday. And her days of being down with illness are so much fewer than before. Aside from the obvious, like brain tumors and sinus surgeries, I'm not sure many of our friends and family in Indy truly knew just how sick Ginger was on a daily basis there. The weather, more than anything, just wasn't her friend. She was a trouper, and never let the outside world really know how bad it was. She's been freed from a great deal of that. No, she wasn't magically healed. Her body and her immune system are such that she will never be completely healthy all the time. But the daily grind is over for her. The ocean is a great place to get well! And her good days far outnumber her bad.
Four years have gone by so fast, and yet sometimes feel like an eternity. There's still a newness and unfamiliarity with so many places here. There are roads in Indy I could still drive to this day with my eyes closed at night. (State Road 144 from 67 to 37 anyone?) I haven't reached that level of comfort yet here, even as things become more and more familiar. It's hard to replace 47 years of brain and muscle memory.
And yet, the last time we were in Indiana earlier this Fall was the first time since we moved that we didn't feel as though we belonged. We felt like visitors. The changes were unfamiliar, even as I still am somewhat in the loop there. It just didn't feel like home anymore. The Mrs. felt the same way. And that's not a sad thing. It's just the reality. South Carolina is our home now.
When we leave, for a visit to Indy, or even a vacation, we look forward to coming home. We miss it here when we're not here. I still get giddy when we drive back into the community the same way I did when we used to vacation here. We love our home, and we love the area even more. We have not one single regret, other than to wish we would have made the move years earlier.
So as I've tried to provide periodic updates, especially to my friends back in Indy, I suspect, unless something drastic changes, this will probably be the last full update. What you need to know is above. We've settled in quite nicely, and while I've learned to never say "Never," I can't imagine life for us proceeding anywhere other than here anytime soon.
And I'll end again with this... come see us! Soon. Today. Don't wait. No, I don't care about a pandemic. Not in the least. We love to show the place off, and our doors -- and our guest bedrooms -- are always open to whoever wants to drop by.
But be careful... it gets in your blood real quick, and you may find yourself making a move soon, rather than later!
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