My North Carolina Life

WOW!

Has it been that long already????

It sure doesn't seem like 13 years have gone by, and so quickly they have faded into a memory pushed back in the file cabinet(somewhere in the dusty back corner of my brain).

...but if my fingers have done the math correctly(and I did recount twice and carried my one) it has been 13 years since we packed up the truck and car(complete with crib, highchair, enough clothes to get us all by for a few weeks and a zip lock bag full of passies) and hit the road to move here to North Carolina.

Kyle was a mere 7 months old and as long as I kept the passies coming every time he threw one toward the back window or onto the floorboard he was a "happy camper". Our move happened fast by Army standards...Chris was given an Honorable Discharge a going away dinner and a plaque and we were off to begin our new life in NC.....all the while praying the Army would not screw anything up while packing an moving the rest of our belongings(I tend have a slight OCD when it comes to packing. I like to do it myself, that way it is done right & I know where everything is...for instance...MY SHOES?!?...but more on that later)

I thought moving to NC would not be any different than coming from Georgia or South Carolina but boy was I wrong! The small one stop light town we moved to was a HUGE shock to me....not to mention the town had no Daycare Centers, only "at home" childcare...hmmmmm????

I have learned so many things since I have been here.....

Like how fast I learned to drive with one hand at the top of the steering wheel, because everyone you pass coming the other direction is going to wave at you.

Or how you need to allow extra time for tractors, plows and combines when you go anywhere.

That the trunk of a car is called the "boot"

How every sentence ends with "Sir" or "Ma'am"

They will have a Pig Piggin at the drop of hat(birth, death, graduation, marriage,homecoming)...if it happens to ya...a pig is gonna die!

That everyone older than you is addressed as "Mrs. So & So or Mr. So & So"

And that the Volunteer Fire Dept. whistle will wake you and your toddler out of a dead sleep at all hours of the night...and then blow again at noon to signal the farmers it was time for lunch!

Also, you could come home on any given day to find that "some kind neighbor" has left you a watermellon, a basket full of corn or even a bottle of homemade wine!

I have to say, that after living here for 13 years I still learn new things all time time about "life down South". I love it here, it has become my home. I will always be a "Kentucky Girl" at heart, but there is no doubt,that the remainder of my life will be lived out here in North Carolina.

Oh, and if your wondering about my shoes???? I finally found them while putting up the Christmas decorations....yep...they had packed my shoes with the Christmas stuff...now why did I never think to look in that box?????