Just As I Imagined

When we were still in Charlotte I would sit in my cube and daydream about Asheville.  I would think of the milder weather, the greenery blanketing the small mountains, our family, how happy the dogs would be running around the farm, how much healthier and happier we would be with all the fresh local foods and being in the sunshine more.

I was also scared.

For months I built up this move in my mind.  I rested all of my hopes and dreams on it which was probably a very unfair burden for it to bear.  Everything that sent negative vibes down my spine was countered with happy thoughts of Asheville.  I knew it was risky, but I almost felt like a fish out of water gasping for air; gasping for life.  It had to work.

Most of my daydreams were manifested out of old memories or ghost-like glimpses into Asheville life from when we visited.  It had been eight years since I had called this place home.  And although I held a deep deep appreciation for it, I felt like a poser when asked to recommend places to visit in Asheville and things to do.  When I lived here during my school years I played so much ball I didn’t even know there were places like Lake Powhatan not more than 10 minutes from my front door.  I had never been camping where a camper or at least a shower house wasn’t involved.  My feet had not hiked one step outside of going to the top of Pisgah with my Grandparents and my Dad when I was in elementary school.  It has been years since I’ve tried a new restaurant just for the simple fact that when we came home we ate with family or went to the same old spots.  That’s very disturbing considering Asheville is such a foodie town and we are such foodie people.

So yes I was scared of my daydreams and bundled hopes.

Today the weather is 84 degrees, sunny with a light breeze that likes to knock the shades on our sliding glass doors together now and then.  I’ve woken up to the cool mountain air every morning this week and enjoyed a cup of coffee listening to the mountains wake up.  We’ve explored streams and trails, walked historic towns, picked the freshest vegetables from the garden and took them straight to our plate, had dinners and impromptu lunches with family, watched our dogs run around the farm with smiles on their faces and loved every second of this life we are being given a second chance at.

Things are turning out exactly how I had imagined and the word grateful just doesn’t seem to impress upon the magnitude of emotion I feel surrounding being given this opportunity.  It almost feels surreal.  I feel like a different person.  I feel like life is finally being let out of its little cage and allowed to prosper and grow into the beautiful thing it was always meant to be.  Maybe I am an outdoorsy person.  Maybe I do have a little redneck in me.  Maybe I am a hippy. Maybe I like to run around barefoot and feel the ground under my feet and the grass between my toes.  Maybe big family dinners do make life rich.  Maybe I can take the time to see the small things so easily missed if we don’t look for them. Maybe this is life.

And life is SO refreshing.

Similar Posts