Spring Magic
Just a couple
weeks shy of one year ago, I was in my nephew's adorable
then-7-year-old daughter Maggie's bedroom in their home in Raleigh, NC,
looking at her rock collection. I had traveled from Colorado to North
Carolina for my dad's birthday, which is, conveniently, in early
April--arguably, the prettiest time of year in NC. After so long in
Denver (12 years at that point), and with Rick's and my agreement that
we'd move once the youngest of his children was out of the nest, I
could feel a quickening of the energy and a strengthening of the
powerful magnet of "home."
It was utterly gorgeous during that trip--most days that week were warm, but not too warm, and sunny, and the azaleas were just at their peak. If you've never been to the Southeast during Spring, suffice to say that there is an almost-overwhelming amount of beauty with much of the lush landscape in bloom--flowers everywhere you look--and the trees freshly leafed--or leafing--out. Aside from my family and friends, Spring in North Carolina is what I missed most and I missed it with the passion of a separated lover. So, one afternoon as I drove through Raleigh, which was my home during much of my 20s and 30s, and home to my sister's family and many of my dearest friends, it hit me: I want to live here again--not just somewhere in North Carolina, but here, in Raleigh.
The very evening that realization struck, I was invited to dinner at my nephewTyler's and his wife Carrie's lovely home in Northwest Raleigh, which is heavily wooded and hilly--just gorgeous and just my kind of place. As Maggie showed off her collection, she handed me a little stone and declared, "This is my wishing rock. Whatever you wish on it will come true." I believed her and made my wish.
Today, I was sitting on our deck in our gorgeous yard in our heavily wooded, hilly, Northwest Raleigh neighborhood, soaking in the sunshine on a warm and glorious Spring afternoon, in utter bliss to be where I had wished to be. And I was marveling at the power of Easy World to provide whatever you deeply desire, in magical ways with utter ease and without plotting and manipulating and struggling.
I'll save further telling of the magic of finding our home here for another day...
This photo of Spring in NC from several years ago gives you a feel for the powerful beauty to be found here in early April...
It was utterly gorgeous during that trip--most days that week were warm, but not too warm, and sunny, and the azaleas were just at their peak. If you've never been to the Southeast during Spring, suffice to say that there is an almost-overwhelming amount of beauty with much of the lush landscape in bloom--flowers everywhere you look--and the trees freshly leafed--or leafing--out. Aside from my family and friends, Spring in North Carolina is what I missed most and I missed it with the passion of a separated lover. So, one afternoon as I drove through Raleigh, which was my home during much of my 20s and 30s, and home to my sister's family and many of my dearest friends, it hit me: I want to live here again--not just somewhere in North Carolina, but here, in Raleigh.
The very evening that realization struck, I was invited to dinner at my nephewTyler's and his wife Carrie's lovely home in Northwest Raleigh, which is heavily wooded and hilly--just gorgeous and just my kind of place. As Maggie showed off her collection, she handed me a little stone and declared, "This is my wishing rock. Whatever you wish on it will come true." I believed her and made my wish.
Today, I was sitting on our deck in our gorgeous yard in our heavily wooded, hilly, Northwest Raleigh neighborhood, soaking in the sunshine on a warm and glorious Spring afternoon, in utter bliss to be where I had wished to be. And I was marveling at the power of Easy World to provide whatever you deeply desire, in magical ways with utter ease and without plotting and manipulating and struggling.
I'll save further telling of the magic of finding our home here for another day...
This photo of Spring in NC from several years ago gives you a feel for the powerful beauty to be found here in early April...
I was born and raised in Washington DC (technically the South since it's below the Mason-Dixon line as my dad used to always say), and I can attest to the utter magnificence of springtime in this part of the country. My mother loved azaleas, had several azalea bushes growing in the yard of the home I grew up in, and I lived about 7 minutes from one of the largest azalea collections in the U.S., at the U.S. National Arboretum.
Hawaii is definitely Paradise, but your photo makes me yearn to experience springtime in the South again.
Washington, DC is gorgeous, indeed, with much of the same flora and fauna as here in NC. I do understand your yearning! But I'll rest easy (wink) knowing you can console yourself with your surroundings there in Hawaii!
I found your azaleas as I was surfing for a new background picture for my desktop. Our lives share some parallels. I transplanted to Aurora, CO in 1981. Generations of my family have lived in the Lenoir/Hickory,NC area. What a beautiful place to be raised and live! Your blog moved me. There's no place like NC. We hope to retire there as soon as our children "settle" into their adult lives. Thanks for reminding me there is no place like NC.
Nope--no place like NC! I am loving being back. There are some things I miss about Denver--my stepdaughters, to be exact! And I miss being able to be in the mountains so quickly and easily. But I haven't regretted moving back to the "motherland." Lenoir/Hickory area is gorgeous--mountains AND azaleas, etc. And, oooohhh, the rhododendrons and mountain laurels! Thanks for taking time to comment.