New Home Sweet Home

It was 2003 when I left South Carolina, swearing I would never return.  I was 28 years old.  Ten years later, 2013 and 38 years old, I have come full circle.  Not only did I return to South Carolina, I have returned to the very town of my birth, Hartsville.  So far, the things that I need and the things that I desire have been coming easily.  Take my new home, for example. I fantasized about a quiet, simple and private house for myself with just enough space for my most treasured belongings and enough sun to grow my own vegetables.  This is where I now live.

I wanted to be close enough to my Mom and Dad to be able to see them whenever I want and whenever I need.  I have already spent countless hours in the kitchen with my Mom and shared delicious meals on her beautiful porch.

I have wanted to go hunting with my Dad and earn the privilege to learn more skilled hunting techniques in order to humbly provide myself with meat to eat.  While I haven't yet gotten to hunt with him, he did try to call in a turkey on one of the last days of turkey season...in my backyard...with no luck.  We have many more hunting seasons to take advantage of and I am excited to show him how to actually get a turkey!  ;)

I wanted to be closer to my brother and his family; to actually be a part of my niece and nephew's lives as opposed to being the distant aunt that is horrible about remembering holidays and birthdays.  I wanted to share time with my niece and nephew, sharing what I love about life with them and learning from their own individual explorations.  I have already spent a full day romping in the wilderness with them and seeing trails, I have hiked so many times, for the very first time again through their eyes.

It is with more faith in my life's purpose than I have ever had that I return to Hartsville.  After one and a half years of working for a non-profit organization that supports men and women returning from prison; an organization that is a beautiful summation of a beautiful man's own life purpose; I am committing 100% of my energy into creating an after-school program for teenagers.  This is the dream I have carried with me since 2005 and the dream that lead me to grad school and to Wilmington, NC.  I have my work cut out for me.  I have a whole new community to understand and another puzzle in which to figure out where the piece that is "me" fits.  This is the sixth time I have been faced with this challenge in the past 10 years.  I do love moving to a new community and learning the beautiful nuances of the diverse cultures that make each community unique.  As I once vowed never to return to this town, I now seek to establish a life in this town that will carry me into old age along with family and friends who have known me since birth and many, many new friends I have yet to find.  Yes indeed, I am finally home!  New home sweet home it is!!!