Seventeen years.  That is the  number of years we have lived in Weddington, North Carolina.  Now, we are moving on to a new journey in the mountains. 

A lot has happened in 17 years, and the memories made are wonderful.  We raised our children in this home.  We built a life in this home.  We made friends in this home.  Our children went off to college, and then got married while living in this home.  My mother, Mary, lived with us for 24 years, 17 of them in this Weddington home.  I built an established and exceptional career as an artist in this home.  It’s been a great ride.

My mother has passed on to her home with the Lord, our children are married and have places of their own.  Our daughter and son-in-law, Sarah & Matt, are having a baby, and Bob and I are semi-retired now, and need a much smaller place to call home.

It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things

Theodore Roosevelt

The mountains were calling us, so, we did a lot of work on our Weddington home and put it on the market. Less than 24 hours later, our home was sold to a family in their 40s.  We hope the memories they make in this home will be as wonderful as our memories.

I must say, that I feel as if there has been a death in the family.  A loss.  Don’t get me wrong, selling our home was our choice.  It was no longer serving our needs and was too  much for us to continue to take care of.  For Bob and I, it seemed ridiculous to stay on in a home that was so much larger than our needs now, all these years later.  Two people do not “need” an almost 5000 sq ft house to keep clean and maintain.  When it was 6 of us there most of the time, sure, it made sense, but selling was the right decision.

Little did we realize, though, just how difficult moving would be.  We’ve moved before, but this … 17 years worth of toys now in the attic, antique furniture from parents now gone, and God only knows what else that had accumulated for one reason or another.  It took 8 months from start to finish, from decision to sell to sold.  A lot took place in that 8 months.

From cleaning out closets, attic spaces, cabinets, drawers, and the garage for Donation runs, to selling furniture on Facebook Marketplace, to trash – throwing out the crap that we didn’t want and nobody else would either.  It was 8 months of clear and strategic decisions.

After the purge, it was time to get things done that needed to get done, like painting the interior and exterior, replacing the deck, getting some drywall work done, painting our kitchen cabinets, and replacing the roof, gutters, and fascia board.  Lots of work, but necessary.  We did it all and the house went on the market – and Sold – in less than 24 hours.

That’s when things got real – we had to find a temporary place to live, we had to find a moving company and storage solutions for everything including my paintings and our baby grand piano.  It was one very huge and stressful job.  We had less than 30 days until closing.

God is good – all the time – and we were able to accomplish all of our moving goals. 

We are now living in an apartment near our daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Matt, near Asheville, and are excited about the baby boy that will soon be joining our family.  Living close by during this transition was a good decision and gives us the opportunity to help Sarah and Matt navigate this new adventure as parents.  Exciting things are happening in 2022!

Now, we are purchasing property in the Blue Ridge mountains and building a much smaller home. It is an exciting time.

Moving on …