This week, I was clearing out my iphone photos because I reached a scary storage capacity. Upon my deleting frenzy, I stumbled on these photos of our first official drive to Asheville, North Carolina from Miami, Florida. They took me back to that excited, hopeful feeling we had packing our things and taking that big leap.

I’ll never forget those days, they were among the happiest of that year and I didn’t even know it. We stopped by a BBQ place somewhere in Georgie for a quick meal and a beer on the drive up. Though we’d visited before, experiencing Southern comfort food and hospitality that day (and every day since) has taken on a whole new meaning for us. This is no longer a culture we enjoy in passing, it’s home.

We stayed that week in Asheville, Jaime working remotely and me working hard to find our temporary home for 6 months. After a busy week of touring several apartments with long conversations about life dreams and logistics in between, we found our place. Two weeks later we’d make the final drive from Miami all the way to North Carolina with the last of our things and a new home base.

Now, that apartment is in our past, its stressors and happiness in our rearview mirror! We bought our home in Bryson City and every day life here becomes more familiar. Time flies has lost its luster from overuse, and yet, I have to invoke that sentiment here. Every year, I catch myself in disbelief it’s all passed by us so quickly. Grab onto this moment, my friends. Take the time enjoy where you are and feel everything about it to the fullest. I know I am.