Four years old. Four batches of cupcakes. Four hours in the sun with friends. It was a really awesome day. So awesome that when I looked at some of the pictures, I cried, because they symbolized so much to me. I was pregnant with my second son when we moved to Sanford. I was so sad about leaving the South Carolina town we lived in because I had a circle of friends there that I felt like I was just starting to get to know. We had a house I loved with a swimming pool in the back yard. We were in a great location in town and only an hour away from the beach and 5 short hours from our “homes” in Tennessee. It was ideal. And we were leaving, just when I felt settled and comfortable and content.
We moved to Sanford. This tiny town that didn’t even have a Target. Or any of the good chain restaurants. Hell, there wasn’t even a Super Walmart here at the time! It was, to say the least, culture shock for this spoiled, high-maintenance city girl. We rented a house in Sanford because I just didn’t feel up to house-hunting and because we were seriously considering buying in Apex when the time came. I was pretty sure small town life would be miserable, but I was determined to give it a try. It might never compare to Florence (the city we’d just left) or Knoxville (my hometown) but it was going to be our home for at least a year, like it or not.
So we settled in and made a life. Had a baby three months after we moved here, knowing absolutely nobody in town who could help out when we needed it. We tried to get involved…put my oldest in a preschool, thinking I’d meet people that way. It was a no-go. He was never invited to anyone’s house for a playdate or to a birthday party or to anything at all. Not because he wasn’t liked. Every mom I met told me how much their child loved my son, but that didn’t translate into friends, apparently. He’d come home and tell me that so-and-so was having a party and how much he wanted to go but never got an invitation. It was heartbreaking, for both of us. I felt like everyone had been here their entire lives and had no room in their hearts for me or my kids. But for some reason, we decided to buy a house in Sanford. Something told me to stay here, to keep trying.
I started blogging, not to find friends but to have an outlet. And I started meeting people…virtually, but they were local and I felt like doors began to open to me. Then I found myself pregnant unexpectedly. I was surprised, but happy. Finding joy in the unpredictability of life. But just as I began to adjust to the idea of having another baby, the floor dropped out. My husband lost his job and I thought we were going to have to leave a town that I’d started to love. Again. The despair I felt was unimaginable.
One day not long after that, I picked up the newspaper and read a story about this church who’d done a super awesome amazing thing…they’d provided a school uniform to every single child at a local public school. WOW. I always considered myself a Christian, but I’d quit going to church and was pretty pissed off at God for a lot of things. I also despised the religious right, the holier than thou attitudes at most churches, the behavior that was most definitely not Christ-like. But something told me that this church knew what it meant to follow Christ. And so we went. On August 31, 2008 we stepped into Brickcity Community Church and found what we were looking for in a church. And we started to make friends, slowly but surely. Baby Violet arrived. I still didn’t know a lot of people who I could call on anytime, but by the time she was 4 months old I felt like I had a whole host of friends who would do anything for me, any time of the night or day.
And a year later, I couldn’t be happier. I continue to meet people, through church and in the community. I’ve helped start this little thing called SocialSanford so others can know all of the cool stuff going on in this small town that offers so much. I am secure in my faith. I am loved, by so many people that I am overwhelmed at times and wonder what I did to deserve it.
Today was the 4th birthday of that little boy who was still incubating when we moved here. There was a party…a “Connect” as our church calls them. The team I serve on got together to do life for a little while and I invited some other friends since it was also a birthday celebration for my son. We played in the fountain at Depot Park, ate pizza and cupcakes, and enjoyed each other. It was the perfect way to spend the day.
This picture says it all. It’s such an iconic view of Sanford, and it’s filled with people we care about. It’s not much to look at this small, but if you click on it, you can get the full effect. We’ve come such a long way in the last four years, and this picture will always remind me of just how beautiful life can be.
