A New Chapter

Two months have gone by since my last post to this blog on March 16.  We returned to our home that we designed and built 43 years ago on Sassafras Gap Road.  The power and water were on this year, unlike in the past, but it was very cold, with temperatures in the twenties and formidable wind chills.  It was good to return to the beautiful home that we expanded and improved over the years, to the comfort of the familiar.  The power and water were on this year, unlike in the past, but it was very cold, with temperatures in the twenties and formidable wind chills.  It was good to return to the beautiful home that we expanded and improved over the years, to the comfort of the familiar.

As much as we love this home, for several years now we have considered moving closer to downtown Highlands.  Martha’s aunt Anne owned a condominium at Highlands Townsite until recently, and stayed there during the summers, until she moved to an independent living and then an assisted living retirement home in Clemson, South Carolina.  We enjoyed many wonderful hours on her front porch, sipping wine and visiting, enjoying hearing all of the stories about her travels and her friends.  It was “Anne Central,” and in the late afternoons all of her neighbors would drop by with drinks and snacks.  The location was perfect for her, on Horse Cove Road, which is really an extension of Main Street and is the quietest road to Town.  Her grandchildren sold the place two years ago, in part to help pay for the cost of her assisted living, and that made us wonder if we had missed an opportunity to move to Highlands.  Condominiums are the only affordable options anymore, but they rarely come on the market, and especially at Highlands Townsite, where most of the owners are second-generation, retired second-home owners.  Wouldn’t this have been a smart move for us?  

In March, while we were still in Atlantic Beach, Martha learned that an apartment in the building had become available, a downstairs unit at the opposite end where Anne’s had been.  We always do a lot of thinking and planning while we are on our “Sabbatical.”  In the past we have planned trips to Italy and France and month-long road trips out west in our Mini Cooper.  As we thought about it, it seemed to be an opportunity that we could not ignore, an open door through which a new chapter in our lives might begin.  Martha had been ready to move to Highlands for a year or two, while I was not quite ready.  But I agreed to look at the condominium with an open mind when we returned to Highlands, which we did within a week.  When we walked inside, I admit that I was surprised.  Anne’s unit, though filled with her beautiful artwork and treasured belongings, had always seemed antiquated and dark.  This place was filled with light.  New flooring had been installed, along with a modern HVAC system.  I was immediately receptive to moving here.
 

So, by the middle of March, and not without a lot of soul-searching and weighing of the pros and cons, we had decided to buy a new home.  A home in Highlands, on property once owned by Martha’s ancestors, in the Town which I served for 26 years, on the corner of Horse Cove Road and Sixth Street, which I have run past for four decades – in fact, it was on our regular daily running route.  We decided to place our home of 43 years on the real estate market as soon as we could – the target date was June 1, which gave us only a little over two months to take this leap of faith into the future, this new chapter, this adventure.