And now, to the Beyond!

Ok, so there are some big changes afoot here. I've spent the last 6 months working up to our big moment and it is NEXT WEEK! The grand experiment of living in a rural lake community in central Virginia is coming to a close. So my blog, News from the Lake and Beyond is about to go strictly To the Beyond. I have been holding interviews with key advisors to this momentous 5 year experiment and here are their comments:

Husband: "Yeah, we liked it here a lot. Good friends, nice community. Everyone here is polite. Will really miss our wonderful block neighbors and all the places we go for food: Albemarle Bakery, Feast, Integral Yoga, Mona Lisa, Cunningham's, the Indian place up past Target (which is closing down), Martha's Cafe (closed down), Wild Greens (closed down), the Bagel place (closed down)... (Long pause.) Come to think of it, lots of stuff has closed around here recently, hasn't it? Anyway, change is good. I like change."

Offspring #1: "Mommy, you're going to paint a tree on the wall in my new room, right? Just like the old one. And I want to go see Zaboomafoo at the Lemur museum!!"

Offspring #2: "New HOUSE! New HOUSE!!!"

Furballs #1 and #2: (Why are you moving everything around? Don't you know we don't like change?) thought sleepily while proceeding to undertake catnap #17 on a 102 degree summer day.


I started this blog 4 years ago with the intent of documenting our quest for a great quality of life while living somewhere where we could afford to spend a great deal of time with our young kids. That certainly was not possible on Long Island, where we had lived before. Prices were high and quality was low. Well, I think this lake thing turned that all around really well. I have to give it 5/5 stars. We've loved our home, our community, our little town and especially our college town nearby. I've gotten to work part-time and also basically be at home with my kids nearly full-time before they went to school - how amazing is that? I feel so lucky to have made that work.


I think the best thing here has been the moms I've met. I have NEVER felt such a strong sense of community, anywhere. I know I can pick up the phone or dash off an email (just did one last night to a mommy friend who works at Monticello and gave us great advice for going there later this week) and I will get support, humor, friendship and wisdom. I've had people cook for me when I had a newborn, show up at my house at 2 am to watch my other kid when my water broke, help me get my child to the emergency room in the middle of a snowstorm, sit with me week after week watching our toddlers play and give me advice and guidance about this crazy parenting business. They gave me sanity when I thought I had none left. I have to admit, I have never lost the feeling that most of them do the mommy and homemaking thing just a little bit better than me. I think I'm a great parent, but an average homemaker. (And am lucky to have a husband who does so much so that together we can be great.) Anyway, I am in awe of these women, honestly, and I will miss them tremendously. I am just really really glad Facebook will let me watch their kids grow and that we are moving close enough to try to bait them to come visit!

So, why move to the Beyond? Because we're realized we're ready for the next phase. Both kids will be in school and my work at Duke is tremendously satisfying and stimulating. And I want to spend my worktime working and my family time with family and cut out the 8+ hours a week of commuting. Because we're hoping that the new community we're moving into will include some of the southern charm we've found here and add in a little urbanism and more options for fun and culture (which I really do miss). The summers here are fantastic, but the winters can get a little bleak (should we go to the Virginia Discovery Museum, again?) And because in the long run, working there, getting our benefits paid, and going to the fantastic public schools there will save us money. And we are nothing if not practical to the core.



I also think every move to a new place includes a bit of dreaming, a bit of hoping for something different. And what do we hope to find in the Beyond? Good friends, growth, astonishment and multi-dimensional, multi-cultural wisdom for the kids. Social and intellectual stimulation for us. A mix of urban and rural activities. Baseball games in Durham, boating on Falls Lake, dinner in downtown Carrboro over burgers and beer, closer exposure to the offerings of two amazing universities, maybe even some wonderful dinner parties with social entrepreneurs. This will, in fact, be the first time in 10 years that I will live close to where I work. That will be interesting in and off itself, as my two selves start to merge. I may actually have to start wearing make-up to the grocery store, in case one of my students appears!

So, armed with mascara, my new GPS, and an incredible amount of STUFF we seemed to have filled our house with in the past 5 years, off we go to the great white beyond. Or perhaps it is the great blue Beyond, given that NC, like VA, is a nice shade of blue these days. Off to a new blue state, kids and cats and husband and PODs (i and real) in tow, I am off.

To infinity, and... !!