In earlier blogs, I have stated that I am not a person who is comfortable with change. In fact, I hate it. I have a deep loathing for it like Donald Trump has for Rosie O’Donnell, or Richard Simmons has for a triple chocolate brownie with whipped cream on top. 

But we all know that as much as we hate change, it’s pretty much inevitable. Otherwise, we would be living like robots doing the same exact things day in and day out. I guess that would eventually be pretty boring.   

I have been working for The Daily News ever since I graduated college in Pennsylvania in 1995. I have been through a lot in this wonderful town of Jacksonville. Two failed marriages, a beautiful daughter and almost 13 years in at The Daily News, where I have learned so incredibly much, I have made the very hard decision to move to Raleigh at the end of July. I have met an amazing guy who lives there, and I think it might be good for Kayla and I to have a change in our lives. Sometimes, as much as you hate it, change could be a pretty good thing. I’ll talk more about Shawn and the sadness I feel of me leaving the area and The Daily News as time gets closer to my last days.  

But as much as I hate change, I have found that I hate packing and the act of moving even more. It has given me some interesting times to reflect though.  

I have only packed up two very small areas of my house so far. It is interesting what you come across when you start packing things up for a move. This weekend, I came across some things that brought back great memories. As I sat looking through these things reflecting on the great times I have had in my life, I could almost hear Trace Adkins’ touching song “You’re Gonna Miss This” playing in the background. It would have been a perfect scenario for his video.  

I came across my high school yearbooks and read the things my friends wrote throughout the books. I looked at my pictures and how I really haven’t changed all that much, except for gaining weight of course. I came across tons and tons of old Neighbors fronts and Max issues that I had designed. I thought about how much I enjoyed designing pages for the paper and my attempt to add a little flair visually to our staff’s already wonderfully written stories. I also saved the first issue of The Daily News that came out the morning after Sept. 11, 2001. I remembered being extremely pregnant and wondering what kind of future my unborn child would have as I was driving on my way to the airport to do some 9-11 coverage that fateful day. I came across a huge bag of beautiful sea shells that I collected to paint and thought I would keep them and maybe pick that hobby back up while I am in Raleigh. I came across my medals I had kept from being in the band throughout high school. Those brought back tons of great memories as well. I even came across a nice, huge sketch pad that the gang I used to work with (when we had Jacksonville Printing and The Globe) gave me years ago. They had given it to me for my birthday and had all signed birthday wishes on the front page of the sketch pad. They knew I love art (drawing and painting). I loved working at the building that used to be Jacksonville Printing and The Globe and The Shopper (now it holds the main office for Freedom ENC). We were such a tight-knit group who all truly enjoyed working together and would do anything to help each other out. I miss that whole crew.        

Those were only the memories I had found in one rather large box in my bedroom. Who knows what other memories will come back to me as I pack the rest of the house. As much as packing is a total pain in the ass, it is nice to come across things that remind me of where I have been and what has helped shape me into the person I am today. And knowing that I came out of all those changes and transitions in my life pretty well, it makes me look even more forward to what I can achieve in another town.

I’ll write more about my moving experience and what I will miss about Jacksonville in later blogs, so stay tuned. I am going in for some minor surgery in Greenville this Friday, so maybe I can get some good entertaining tidbits for my blog to share with you when I come back from the hospital. I mean, hospitals are full of laughs, right?   

Above: Me as drum major my senior year in high school.

Top right: A pic of me my senior year of high school in 1991. See, I told you I really didn’t look all that different.