Day 6 of 31: Making New Memories

I remember being eight and moving from Texas to North Carolina. I remember noticing the absence of: Ranch Style "Cowboy" Beans. Bluebonnets. The ease of visiting my grandparent's house. The creek we loved to explore in our backyard.  

I missed my friends. I missed our church (and my shy eight-year old self was terrified of church hopping.) I missed the fun things we enjoyed doing as a family in the only state I'd ever lived.

But within a few months of the move that summer, we were climbing Chimney Rock, camping on weekends, hiking and hiking and hiking, conquering Sliding Rock. We visited the Biltmore Estate, ate ice cream sundaes where my mom once had as a child, and got lost for hours (it seemed at the time) in the neighborhood where we would soon move. 

We swam in the pool of our rental house. We found a bakery just down the street that made the yummiest gingerbread men cookies year-round. We made friends.  These are my early Asheville memories.

So it's natural for me to miss the tomato soup from Port Lugano back in Oklahoma. I think of our homeschool friends there each Tuesday morning, as they meet for Classical Conversations. The stars (and planets!) were so very bright in the night sky at the edge of our small town. The sunsets glorious. 

I miss the fellowship of believers at ERC each Sunday morning (and the two minute drive there!) The beauty of that big sky and open plains...well, I learned to love that again.

But I have to remember how important it is to create new memories in this place. 

We are learning the history of the places our founding fathers once walked. Hiking and hiking and hiking. The kids ride bikes up and down the street sidewalks. They love to explore the many national parks and drive past historic battlefields. 

We swam in the neighborhood pool of our rental house this summer. We walked along cliffs where stone was once quarried for the Capitol Building and the White House. We enjoy new friendships and a new church home. We see deer in our backyard.

We are making new memories.

~This is Day 6. You can find all posts in the series here 31 Days of Making this House our Home.