Our trip started at 5:00 a.m. when the alarm went off on Saturday May 12th. With only 4 and a half hours of sleep, we pulled ourselves out of "bed," a queen size air mattress. I slept in my travel clothes to minimize morning preparations and decided to forgo any makeup or fancy hair style. Our dear friends Jessica and Tim Robertson insisted on getting up early and seeing us off. Jessica made us fresh, blueberry muffins, which was really thoughtful and touched my heart. At 6:25 we closed the door on the Doric, the building we have lived in for 5 years. As the I heard the familiar sound of the door shutting, a surge of nervous excitement pulsed through my body. Tim and Jess prayed for us; we prayed for them. We said our good-byes. Brandon drove the U-haul with his car in tow, and I drove my Escort Wagon, with the cats in their pet carrier. The sun was just beginning to rise on a new day, a new season, a new chapter in the Wilhite household.
Brandon and I communicated via walkie-talkies. I kept a sharp eye on the car and dolly, looking out for any unnecessary wiggles. About 2 hours into our trip, we came upon a detour, one of about 4 detours, which felt like 10! It took us 6 hours to get out of the state of Indiana, which normally would only take about 3 and a half! Our cats were having a hard time traveling. Tilly had an accident, causing another stop with clean up. As we traveled down the interstate, I realized that we were driving down the road with all of our belongs, everything we owned. Humbling.
After a 10 hour trip which normally only took 7 and a half hours, we arrived in Williamsburg, Kentucky, my home town. We immediately drove to the storage unit and unloaded, with help from my dad and brother. Funny how unloading did not take nearly as long as loading!!
On Sunday May 13th, we drove to Corbin, Kentucky to return the U-haul to a renter there: McClure's Auto. As we did the final paperwork, Mr. McClure insisted that he feed us. He and his wife and friends were having their Sunday lunch. There was a huge spread of chicken 'n dumplins, fried chicken, veggies and desserts. We explained that we were headed back to my folks' house for Mother's day dinner, and that we should NOT show up with full tummies. He persisted and gave us pie. I had a slice of peanut butter pie; Brandon had a slice of cherry delight. We each were given big glasses of milk to wash down the ooey-gooey richness!! Mr. McClure walked me through his original recipe, ingredients and process. One of his friends said the next time we rent a U-haul, we should not expect such yummy eats and hospitality!! This was a wonderful Southern welcome home!
With only one day of rest, I started my new job on Monday, May 14th.
We have been here just barely over a week now, and are living with my folks until the house we plan to rent will be available and ready for us. Two more weeks. Work is different. I am working in a law office, which is something I have never done before. I am learning a lot and find it all to be interesting. Brandon has set up his office at my folks' house. Tilly and LiLa (lee-lah), our cats, were shell shocked for a while, but LiLa is really enjoying being in the country. Tilly seems restless, with a few serene moments here and there.
It has not sunk in that we LIVE here. We feel like we are visiting, and that in a few days we will drive back north. It's odd living here, but a good odd. I know that we are steps closer. Closer to having children. Closer to Brandon's business really taking off. Closer to building our dream home. Closer.
