Calling NC Home

Most of you know I was born and raised right here in NC. I grew up in the Five Points area of Raleigh, now known as "inside the beltline", prime real estate. I've lived all around Raleigh since becoming an adult. Loved Garner and called it home for many years. Still own a home there. Then I met the love of my life and moved to Cary for 3 years before finding our dream home 4 miles away in Apex. Seriously, we loaded that moving van and traveled exactly 4 miles away, but crossing that line made all the difference in the world.

NC is a fabulous place to live and just today I read in the paper that we have 21 new people moving to our state every hour. Think about that! That's 504 people in a 24 hour day, 3528 in a week, over 15,000 a month, and I've gotta tell you, it made my mouth fall open. No worry. I filled it quickly with my peanut butter crackers and a bit of coffee, but doesn't that sound like a lot of people to you?

It's not unusual to find ourselves in the top 10 list of places to live in the US, and no doubt that's why we have so many newcomers. I say come on down! We've had to add a new stoplight in Apex because of all the traffic. (For those of you far, far away, think Mayberry and Andy Griffith.) We have a beautiful state with beaches on the East Coast and mountains on the West. And in between it's heaven.

Now I tell you this because I saw something so funny this morning that it made me laugh out loud. I'm driving down the road and see a man walking this HUGE dog. Think big & tall like a Great Dane, but furry and bulky like a Husky. So I don't know the breed...no biggie, I just want you to picture this really big dog and a very short leash. And coming up behind them is a power walker. Normal guy doing his morning routine I'm sure. But he was pumping his arms and taking these really long strides. And the dog keeps stopping, turning to see who's coming up behind him.

So as I'm driving on past I couldn't help watching in my rearview mirror til they were out of sight. The dog walker had no choice but to stop because he couldn't budge that big dog. And the power walker kept on coming, but you know he had to be thinking "what's that big dog gonna do when I catch up with him & try to pass?".

This is my life. This is the sort of thing that makes me smile. Come on and visit us here in friendly North Carolina. Expect to see a little of everything and enjoy it all. I'll be looking for you. And whether you're a power walker or a dog walker, wave back when you see me waving at you. And smile.