"Take me back to the house in the backyard tree, Said you'd beat me up, you were bigger than me. You never did"

On March 30, I will be 22 years old. Tomorrow, my best friend is turning 22. That's right, Chip and I were born 16 days apart and lived about 50 yards apart for the first sevenish years of our lives. I guess you could say Chip was my very first birthday present, and I'd have to say one of the best I could ask for!

The day I came home from the hospital, Chip and I were put in a crib in my living room so that we could soak in the sun as a treatment for our jaundice. From before we were even capable of deciding, we were inseparable. Even once we were old enough to decide who our friends were, we had plenty of friends but there was no one I was closer to than Chip. We went to the same daycare until school started and even then we went to Pre-K together. Not a day went by where I didn't spend every second of free time with Chip. Whether we were playing in the ditch in my front yard, riding our bikes or Barbie & GI Joe jeeps down the road, or creating some crazy adventure in the backyard, we were making some of the best memories that I have from my childhood. Chip and I played Y sports together, we went to church together, and although we had our moments, there wasn't a thing in the world that could tear us apart. When we were still in daycare, Chip would come over for sleepovers and we would watch Little Rascals until we couldn't hold our eyes open anymore. In the movie, Stymie tells Alfalfa and Spanky that "You only meet your once in a lifetime friend, once in a lifetime." So, so true.

Once kindergarten started, Chip and I were at different schools so our playtime was only after school. When we were about seven years old, Chip moved about a mile and a half away. Don't worry, I moved about halfway between his house and our old houses. When our parents couldn't take us to see each other, we'd ride our bikes to each others houses so we could still make the most of the time we had together. In sixth grade, we started going to the same school again and we would ride to and from school together everyday and spend the afternoons doing homework together and still getting into anything we could find to do. When we were sophomores, Chip was accepted to NC School of Science and Math. My heart was a little broken that my little genius was going to be living an hour away for the next two years.

Fortunately for Chip and I, there's nothing in the world that can come between our friendship. When Chip came home on the weekends, we made sure to have time together and when he turned his tassel at NCSSM graduation, I was standing in the crowd cheering as loud as anyone. We walked across the front of the church together on Senior Sunday and we've made it just two month short of college graduation and there's not a person in the world that I've built a friendship with like the one I have with Chip.

Today, Chip is months away from graduating and pursuing a career in the seminary. My best friend has spent the past two summers in missionary programs including a trip to Uganda last summer. You think this guy has an incredible heart, you have no idea. Chip is one of the smartest people I've ever known and he literally could have any high-paying, high-profile job that he wanted, but he's choosing to help others in a way that most people would never do. I am so proud of you, Chip!

I'm not saying I don't have any other friends, I have amazing friends and they mean the world to me. There's just a bond between Chip and I, almost like brother and sister. I can't imagine growing up with anyone else by my side and there's no doubt that Chip has helped make me into the person I am today. People say to always count your blessings, I have to count Chip twice.

Thank you for always being there for me and for knowing me better than I sometimes know myself. Thanks for being the kind of friend that I can not talk with for a month and then talk to like we hung out yesterday. Thanks for being you, Chip, and I hope 22 is the best year yet! Here's to 22 years of the most incredible friendship and to many, many more!

I just realized how similar these two pictures are when I was adding these to this post! So funny!

"And all the talks on old dirt roads that somehow changed our lives"

There's a little three bedroom house off Tryon Rd in Raleigh where most of my favorite memories from College were created. That little house on Midpines Dr (or Rd - there are two different signs) means more to me that just about any other building I can think of. I fell in love at Midpines, and not just with my wonderful boyfriend, I fell in love with Raleigh and the best friends a girl could ask for.

There wasn't a night in school that I didn't want to be sitting on the couches in the backyard around the fire while Eric, Joseph Wheeler, and the boys played guitar and sang Eric Church and Wagon Wheel until the fire burned out. Even when it was 10 degrees below freezing, we were out there bundled up in whatever warm clothes we could find and it didn't matter how you looked, no one cared as long as you were having fun! Walking up to Midpines, each and every girl was greeted with all so familiar "Hey darlin', how ya doing?" by all the guys, even if they'd never met you. I remember the first night I went to Midpines, I felt more at home than I had since I started school. I went with Carson and it was one of the first nights I had ever hung out with her. I had no idea that'd basically be my life for the next two years. I can't imagine my life without Carson and I can't imagine either of our lives without Midpines. Carson's boyfriend, Phillip, lived at Midpines for two years so we pretty moved in. Even if nothing was going on, they'd invite me to join in watching whatever was on tv or just hanging out and relaxing from a long day. We were in for a real treat if Andrew was cooking us chili and cornbread! One of my favorite memories from Midpines was the afternoon Carson and I took a teddy bear from an ex-boyfriend out to Midpines and the boys helped us shoot it with shotguns until the fluff was all gone. 

It wasn't the house that gave Midpines such a special place in my heart. It was absolutely the people. Most of my best friends are people that I met at Midpines or through people I knew there. If I wanted to write a blog post that was 5,000 words long, I'd list all of the people and memories I'll never forget, but I don't think anyone has time for that.  If you haven't heard this song, you should. Everytime I hear it, I think of Midpines and the amazing people I've become so close to. 

"Here's to the nights we don't remember, and the friends we won't forget."

"You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of you"

I've decided to start my own blog for a couple of reasons. I've seen a few of my friends start blogs that I can't stop reading. I'd like to think someone may be that interested in anything that I have to say. We'll see. Also, I think this will be a good way for me to release energy and unwind on crazy days. Being a second semester seniors creates crazy day after crazier day. 

I guess I'll start from the beginning. I grew up in a town where everyone knows everyone and that absolutely has it's pros and cons. My favorite part of my hometown is that everyone knows everyone. My parents would open the door on a sunny day and send me out to play with my friends in the neighborhood and dare me to come in before dark. That's exactly how I loved it. They didn't worry about me because at any point in my journey to friends houses, there was at least one person that could see me and my best friend Chip who lived across the street was probably by my side the whole. Chip is a story for a whole separate post. My best friends from day one are the best friends that I walked across the stage with when I graduated from high school, and they are a few of the people that I feel have really shaped me into who I am. 

Now that I've uploaded every picture I can find... Part of the reason why we were all so close is that we didn't have a choice. We spent nearly every waking moment together. Most of my friends went to the same Baptist church that I grew up in, and we were there more than you could imagine. On Sundays our schedule was set. Sunday School at 10, big Church at 11 (we got out after 12 because we were in a Baptist church in the south), family lunch, then back to church at 3 for choir, handbell practice from 4-6, youth group dinner until 7 when our youth meeting would start. It seems a little busy, but when you enjoy those days as much as we did, they didn't seem long enough. Looking back, there's very little I wouldn't give to have just one more of those Sundays. 

My family was also deeply rooted in my hometown. Both of my parents were born and raised there and had never lived anywhere else besides about a year long adventure in Hickory that only lasted until they decided that wasn't home. My grandparents (Grammie & Pop) on my Mom's side, and my grandmother (Grandmama) on my Dad's side all live in my town. My mom's youngest brother who was only 15 when I was born also lives there and as much as he loved me, I loved him ten times more. He was without a doubt the coolest guy I knew. 

As of graduation, every best friend I had lived in that town. I thought going to college was going to be the hardest thing I'd ever do because I wasn't used to not seeing Chip, Jamie, Kasey, Kelly, Allie & Athena everyday. We were all going to different schools and the idea of us being apart still makes me sad. After almost making it through freshman year of college, I thought it wouldn't be that bad. Of course, I had made incredible friends in college, but my friends from home were a huge part of me. Over each break from school, we'd all get together at home and talk about what was going on and it never seemed like anything had changed. The day before my first exam during the spring semester of my freshman year, everything changed. 

My mom called me that afternoon to tell me that she was on the way to pick my dad up from work. Through a series of unfortunate events, my dad had lost his job. Both of my parents do everything that they can to make sure my sister and I have absolutely everything we could want or need. They work so hard and I knew my dad would be crushed. My mom told me not to come home, but how could I not? I knew our lives were going to change. As I made the forty-five minute drive from school, I completely took for granted how quickly I could get to my parents when I needed them. 

I walked in the door at home and could tell that each person in my house had been crying. Seeing my mom and sister cry always hurts my feelings, but seeing my Daddy cry absolutely broke my heart. For a few months, it was tough. My Dad is a smart man and works harder than just about anyone I know, but because of a no-compete contract, finding a new job wasn't an easy task. I went home for the summer just a few weeks after we'd gotten the news and watched as my parents searched for an opportunity. Because of connections my Dad has with amazing people, he found a job within just over a month. It seemed like an eternity but could have been so much longer. 

My dad accepted a job in Charlottesville, VA, and moved there within a few days. For the better part of the summer, Daddy drove to Charlottesville on Sunday night, worked through the week while staying in a hotel, and came home on Friday night. Some weekends, my Mom, sister and I would drive up and meet him to look at houses. I hated that summer. I had been gone all year for school and when I got out, I was looking forward to spending time with my family. I missed my Dad like crazy. I hated spending my weekends in Virginia and I certainly didn't want to move there. On July 30, 2010, that's what we did. 

Moving out of a town like the one I grew up in was awful. My friends, my family, my school, my church, my house, and every other significant place in my life was going to be three and a half hours away. I cried my eyes out the whole way to VA. That's kind of where this blog title comes from. It's not necessarily that I left a piece of my in my hometown, it's more that I've taken a piece of my hometown with me and it's still a building block of who I am. The other part of the reason this title seemed appropriate is that it was the soundtrack to the mission trip video the summer before I moved. That was my last mission trip and the song brought back the best of memories.

We found a house outside of Charlottesville in a cute little neighborhood that was the best we could agree on. We knew nothing about the area, so we decided to rent a house for a year until we were sure that the school district and neighborhood itself met our expectations. After two weeks of living here, I had to go back to school for my sophomore year. I was relieved to get out of this town where I knew no one, but I wasn't looking forward to the four and a half hour drive to school that meant being four and a half hours away from my family. That wasn't my plan. The first few weeks were hard and the drive seemed to take forever when I'd go home to visit. 

It's been about two and a half years since we settled in this town. It's only been about a year since I started giving it a chance. It doesn't have the memories and it certainly doesn't have my people, but I'm starting to make new memories, meet new people, and really appreciate what this place has to offer. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm just complaining about this situation. If I'd written this post two years ago, you can bet that'd have been the point. I've come to realize that this was as big of a blessing as any I've gotten.

My Dad found a job that he loves that doesn't nearly lead him to a stress-induced heart attack once a week. My mom has found a job she loves and they have both made some of the best friends they could hope for. Of course they don't replace anyone from home, but they have absolutely become lifelong friends. My sister may have come on the best in the deal. She left our hometown with memories no middle school child should have, and was ready for a fresh start in the new town. She's gone to a high school that doesn't hold a candle to the one I attended and she's not only excelled in school, but she's done so with style and made incredible friends and memories along the way. She may be younger than I am, but if there's anyone I look up to, it's her. Two years ago, I thought I was the most devastated person on the planet. It's true what they say, whenever you are going through a hard time, someone else is going through much worse. What my family went through was a skint knee compared to other things I've heard of people experiencing. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

I think I've shared enough that I don't even need to post again, so I guess I will stop here and save a little for next time. So excited to see how this goes!