The Move to Pittsboro

 

A side creek of the Haw River

There has been so much happening the past few months that I could not blog about in a public forum. First was our decision to leave Elderberry. Our given reason was the distance to church and to our children – and that was true, but not the whole truth. Another reason was the slow Internet that turned parts of my job from quick-efficient into agonizing wasted time. That also was true, but not the whole truth.

The whole truth involved the coming of the Moriah Energy Center a mile from our home. This is a facility that will store millions of gallons of liquified natural gas. Isn’t our country supposed to be moving away from fossil fuels? Why yes. But when I look around Chatham Park where we now live and see hundreds of homes being built to use natural gas furnaces, it’s obvious a great deal of money is involved with this.

Of course, Elderberry suspected the reason we really were moving, and there was some amount of grief and hostility directed toward us, which was difficult.

I stayed stressed out and frightened that our home buyer would change her mind, and we would end up with two houses. Why would someone choose to live so close to an industrial facility and its inevitable pollution and possible accidents? She was fully aware of the Moriah Energy Center, but she bought our home anyway and seems to be a good fit for the community.  

There was monumental stress around gaining access to our money to pay for the new house. How is it even legal for an investment firm to hold up money that is ours? Every time Keith phoned the investment firm’s call center (obviously somewhere overseas), it took a minimum of 30 minutes just to get through, and then communicating was difficult. Keith and I also learned a very hard lesson about the difference between wiring money and electronic transfer of money. It all worked out in the end.

Then there was the actual move – stressful under any circumstances.

Ah well. We are now mostly unpacked in our new home. Our neighbors also are moving in; the houses are being built, and so we’re all new. This makes me hopeful I can make new friends. Grocery stores, drug stores, hardware stores, restaurants are all within easy driving distance; walking distance, in fact.

The drive to church is 25 minutes instead of 45. That’s not as close as it should be, but it’s better. I don’t have to use an interstate at all.

Yesterday, Keith and I walked on a trail near the Haw River, five minutes from our home (photo above).

Spring is on the way, and God has been with us all along.