Change: A Catalyst for Blessings
July 1, 2019

Jim, my husband of 32 years and I are about to start an adventure.

Along with our two dogs, and about half of 28 years’ worth of accumulated crap, we’re moving to Jonesboro, Arkansas at the end of July.

We’ve rented a small house — and when I say small, it’s half the size of the four-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath home in which we raised our girls. It’s small, but it will be plenty. To be honest, we currently only use about three or four rooms in our house anyway. So downsizing here we come. Goodbye four bedrooms, hello storage unit.

jim & dogs
Not the best pic of the dogs. This was taken in our downstairs bathroom during a tornado warning.

When we moved into our current house in a suburb of Memphis, we thought it was a good thing to have two attic areas. Friends, it is not. Trust me, accumulated crap grows to fit the space it lives in.

Our next few weeks will be filled with decluttering and designating about half for storage and half for the house.

As most of our family lives here in Jonesboro, we have no need for huge entertaining areas. It’s easier for us to just come to Jonesboro than to have all of the Jonesboro folks come all the way to Memphis.

Jim is starting a brand-new career in real estate. He’s ready to ditch corporate IT and real estate is perfect for him. He’s a fantastic networker and the most detail-obsessed person I’ve ever known.

I’ve lived in Memphis since 1981, when I moved here to get a masters degree at University of Memphis’ fine graduate program in audiology. I stayed here because I love this city. It’s a great place to live, with a lot of great places to eat (eat local!) and a thriving tech community. Our Sunday School class, the Messengers from Christ Methodist, have been a close community for us. This community has seen us through several deaths in the family, major surgeries and the countless joys and challenges of this life.

If you think Memphis is a nasty, filthy, dangerous place, you haven’t been to Memphis lately. Get out and visit the Crosstown Concourse, ride the Greenline, go to Cooper-Young and enjoy Memphis’ best local restaurants, go downtown (Yes, downtown! ) and check out the South Main District. Go to Summer Avenue and experience real Mexican food, and indulge in fine dining at Erling Jensen. I’ve lived in this city for 38 years, and have only had ONE brush with crime.

It’s only the past couple of weeks that I’ve started to really think about the idea these are some of my last weeks in this beloved city. Memphis, I’ll miss you, but I’ll be back to visit. Often.

Here are some of the things and places I’ll miss about Memphis. Click on one of the photos to see the rest. Downtown shots; things you might not see if you don’t live here.

I hope my snapshots of Memphis have helped you appreciate my town. I’m sad to leave, but change is always hard. It’s often the catalyst for new blessings and I’m ready.

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