Charlotte

Crowders Mountain, 30 mins outside of Charlotte and 3 hours before the plane departed...yikes.

With every trip back to NC, the decision is made: I'm moving back. And so with this trip. Don't worry (or do?), I'm totally not going anywhere. It's all talk...at least until the housing market here allows us to have a greater than 2% chance of selling.

There was no way on God's green earth we were going to make the trip from Charlotte to South Mountains on Friday. A sick child and rain like the rapture were our impediments. But everything was just fine; it just doesn't matter what you're doing when you're with the right company. Right?

We took a "Tour de Childhood Gropius" down the two streets holding addresses of my houses from 1 year to 16 years, and we visited the landmarks that most Charlotteans consider trite and certainly nothing much to speak of. It was comforting to get the confirmation that my random and scattered dreams containing images of those childhood places were pretty much accurate. Even the sign at Park Road Shopping Center hadn't been changed in 30 years. Good move. Now it's retro.

A tiny dogwood tree my mother planted 27 or so years ago is now a gorgeous specimen, producing shade enough for a large family's picnic. How cool.

My patient tour guide: a great Sarasota friend who ended up in Charlotte with a young sweet family. Isn't it strange to see your high school friends as parents? In Little Olive, I saw a younger version of the 33 year old creative I love and adore. She's a great mother. We had a blast. So grateful for the few in life you can always count on to share your joy, sorrows, laughs, memories and outright craziness. I haven't felt so refreshed in a while.