Big Move

It's official. We have made the move back home to Jacksonville. Part of me is ecstatic about being close to our family, friends and the beach...back to our roots. The other part is heartbroken...sad to leave the amazing life we worked 10 years to build in Charlotte. Change is hard, but inevitable. Fresh out of college, I was scared to death to make the move to North Carolina, a place so far from home. A place where I knew nobody except David. I had no idea what was in store for us. Charlotte, our wonderful home for the past 10 years, holds a special place in my soul, and I will never forget the amazing journey David and I have had living in this city. There's something to be said about taking a leap of faith - making yourself go so far out of your comfort zone - that's what I felt when I left Florida. And now it's time to make another move. One that has me scared once again. In a way, it's a hard pill to swallow - going back home after all these years of being away. Will we easily settle back into a different way of life? Will we feel "at home?" I know everything will be fine, and I know it is normal to be apprehensive. It will be so special to raise our boys where we grew up. It will be amazing to walk one block to the beach every day. I know there are many great life adventures in store for us. But for now, I need to write about our Carolina home. I don't ever want to forget the wonderful life we've had here.

I will miss our first house. The place where we threw all-night parties with friends. The place we brought both our babies home from the hospital. The only home our boys have known. I will miss watching the sun rise and reflect off the front porch every morning. I will miss walking outside to the most amazing neighborhood I could imagine living in. Our neighbors who are like family.

I will miss Plaza-Midwood, the best place to live in Charlotte. I will miss walking to our shaded park. I will miss my runs on our hilly sidewalks under the most beautiful trees. I will miss the festivals at church and concerts at the park. I will miss impromptu happy hours outside while watching the children play. I will miss this little neighborhood community of ours.

I will miss the doctors who have been there for us all these years. Dr. Ball, the best pediatrician in the world! Without her, I'm not sure if we would have discovered Henry's heart condition. Thank God for her and Henry's amazing surgeon, Dr. Peeler. And I will miss Dr. Arronte - words can't describe the impact she has made on my life.

I will miss Myers Park Baptist Through-The-Week-School. I cried when we found out Cohen was accepted into the Toddlers class. We have made amazing friendships at this school the past two years, and I am sad Henry won't get to experience it. Cohen has learned so much and has transformed from a toddler into a smart, independent little man, and I accredit a lot to his teachers.

I will miss driving around this beautiful town. It is gorgeous. I love opening up the sunroof, rolling down all the windows and blasting music while the boys and I sing along. I will miss the seasons. I crave that feeling I get as winter fades into spring, and everything turns green again. And nothing compares to fall in North Carolina. Hands-down, this is the place to be as the air chills and leaves turn. We will be back to visit come October.

It is hard not to cry as I write this, but I am so sad to leave the friendships we have made here. We have seen many friends come and go from Charlotte, but we have met amazing people here. Friends who have been like family to us. I will miss Cohen's friends. My heart breaks at the thought of him asking where they are now that we are in Florida. I know we are moving back to a handful of best friends, but I will never forget the people who have been here for us.

And I will never, ever, ever be okay with being so far away from Laura. My sister. I am going to have a breakdown as I write this. I'm not sure how this is going to work out, but I know it is going to be a struggle leaving her (and Mike) behind. My boys need their "Aunt Water" and Uncle Mike.

I will miss this town of ours. From our days of dancing on the bar 'til 2 am at Dixie's, playing ping pong at Thomas Street, playing flag football on week nights, Alive After Five on Thursdays, trips to Freedom Park with the dogs, watching FSU football with the girls (the infamous hair pull at Picasso's), Slootsgiving, impromptu bbqs on the back deck with friends...to our days with the boys - trips to ImaginOn, Discovery Place, Nature Museum, Monkey Joe's, Music Together, neighborhood playgroup, Carolina Club pool, park days, etc. I will miss the mad rush on school days, trying to get both boys up, dressed, and out the door by 8:45. Going "the fire truck way" to school and going "the CVS way" home. I don't ever want to forget the special memories, or even the day-to-day activities that shaped the past 10 years of our lives.

Some memories captured the past few years...

Cohen crawling at ImaginOn with Lillian and Julia (where's Brady?!)

Cohen scooting across our hardwoods

Cohen practicing walking at our park

Swinging on the front porch

Beautiful fall day at our house

Cohen loved the snow! Too bad we didn't get any this winter.

Springtime

Walks to the park

These two...best buddies from day one

Spring festival at Kilgo

Easter at CGC

Bath time

First days of school - Toddler

Two

Presbyterian Hospital is the best. I still remember the nurses who took care of me, Rachel (with Cohen, and Henry's baby nurse), and Lawanda (with Henry) - those women gave me sanity and strength when I needed it the most.

On the way to the hospital to have Henry

Cohen practicing to be a big brother

Naked sprinkler fun in the front yard

My 30th birthday (7 months pregnant with Henry)

Couch jumpin' in the living room

Watching golf with Dad

4th of July

Cruisin' the streets with Evan

Pool time in the driveway

Cohen's other best bud, Hunter.

Henry learning to crawl

First haircut

Discovery Place

Spray fountain on The Green

Visiting Dad at work for lunch

First birthday

Boo-boos on the face

Bath in the duck tub

Practicing his swing

Lovin' on Ellie

First stitches and black eye

Play time on the bed after bath

Three-month-old Hen

First Christmas as brothers

These two...I love watching them play.

Halloween in our neighborhood is so much fun

Don't even get me started on Liz. She will always be part of our family.

Nature Museum trail

Dinners at Vivace

The mountains

Our home, 2205 Club Road. I am crying thinking about the empty rooms we left behind. We filled that house with love and now it is time to make our mark on our beach home.

Note: I wrote this post before we moved. I had to. My heart was breaking every day thinking about saying bye to our life in NC. And I didn't want to forget how I felt or the memories we made amongst the chaos of our move. Although I was scared and sad, I was also excited. And I still am now that we are back home in Jacksonville. In one week here, our days have been filled with fun with family and old friends, bike rides, trips to the park and walks to the beach. It still hasn't sunk-in that we are living here. It feels like we are on vacation! I am so excited about this next chapter in the Hathaway family book. Life truly is good!