Making a Memory -- Who Am I To Disagree?

Amy and I dreaded telling my parents that we were moving to Louisiana. I was sick the entire way to my childhood home on Simerly Creek Road. It was unusual for us to show up at my parent's unannounced, so Mom came to the front porch and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said. "We just need to talk to you and Daddy."

To my surprise, they both took the news of our move really well, telling Amy and me how proud they were of both of us. It certainly has made the entire move easier. I know my mother's heart aches that I'm so far away, but we talk a lot and she marvels at all the things that have gone right for us. (Knock on wood here, for any of you who are superstitious.)

We put our house up for sale in December, and only a little more than a week later, we had a contract. In this economy, we expected it might take months to sell the house. Kudos to Scott Metcalf, our wonderful realtor from Erwin. He's the best!

Being surprised how quickly the house "sold," we really had to pick up the timeline of things in Lafayette. Amy and I looked at homes, but it was mostly up to me and our realtor here, the marvelous Arla Slaughter.

We looked at home after home. New homes. Lived-in homes. An older home with a beautiful backyard and pool. Nothing seemed right. I loved Amy's two-bedroom condo her company had placed her in for the first three months, and I began to think that it might turn into our permanent home.

We found a great house in a popular location here called Sugar Mill Pond. We were prepared to make an offer, but the next morning someone paid cash for the house. Darn. What would we do?

Arla and I set off the next day, and I had only two days left before I was going back to Erwin for three weeks. Amy and I would be visiting me on the weekends, but I wouldn't be back in Louisiana for a while.

We hadn't visited a new neighborhood called Grand Pointe, so we headed there first. It was only a mile outside of the business district – exactly where we wanted. Arla and I looked at every house we could. I found two homes that I thought fit what we were looking for in our new home. When Amy walked into the one at 100 Shadow Springs Drive, she knew instantly this was the one.

The house overlooks a beautiful pond (they call it a lake, but, folks, it's not Watauga), and it has a wonderful courtyard surrounded by a brick and iron fence. Sadie loves her freedom in this outdoor space!

The home is just beautiful, and we've slowly made it our own.

But the seller had lots of interest in the home, which is a replica of his own home. It was even featured as the cover story of a local magazine. So if we didn't come through, someone was bound to snap it up quickly.

The timeline was so tight.

The closing on our house in Tennessee was Friday, March 8, and the closing here in Lafayette was Monday, March 11. Amy had her condo only until Thursday, March 14.

Buying a house is complicated today with all the added attention on banks following the disastrous previous two years, so any little thing could put a terrible delay in place. We were a nervous wreck. Everything had to go smoothly for everything to go as planned in Lafayette.

And, thankfully, everything went like clockwork. As my mother says, it's like it was meant to be.

After signing the paperwork for the sale of our Erwin home, Amy and I drove back to 105 Old Farm Road and met Amy's family and my family for a last look and a photo at what had been our home since February 2000. And then it was time for us to go.

With Sadie in the back seat, Amy and I sat out for the two-day drive to Louisiana. We stopped at the Vesuvius tower at Second Street and sat for just a moment and held hands. I had always thought if I ever left Erwin, I'd put on the song "Casey" by Darren Hayes, so we sat there, tears rolling down both our faces, looking at downtown Erwin and playing that song on my iPhone.

From the speakers, Darren sang, "When you go, can you come and find me?/ I wanna be beside you when you leave this town/ I'll be waving goodbye pretending not to cry."

As the song ended, I said, "Let's go." Amy squeezed my hand and said, "OK."

We switched on the radio and things really came together. The next two songs told us we were on the right path. Amy's favorite pop group is Bon Jovi, and my favorite group is Eurythmics.

The first song that came on the radio was Bon Jovi's "(You Want To) Make a Memory," with Jon Bon Jovi singing, "If you go now, I'll understand/ If you stay, hey, I got a  plan/ You wanna make a memory/ You could sing a melody to me/ And I could write a couple lines/ You wanna make a memory."

It was immediately followed by Eurythmics' iconic "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," with Annie Lennox singing, "Sweet dreams are made of this, who am I to disagree?"

Amy and I looked at each other and laughed.

There have been all sorts of signs since we arrived – people we've met, experiences we've had – that has reaffirmed that we've made the right decision.

Why, only this morning, there was another affirmation that everything is playing out just right, but that's a story for another time. I'll give you a little hint, though. All that newspaper ink that's stained my fingertips for 20 some years now, well you know what? It just won't come off.