My brother and I drove down on the 21st in my little Aveo and we were crushed. The drive wasn't bad, however. I made him listen to songs on my ipod after he made me listen to NPR and I hooked my laptop up to the radio and we watched episodes from the 1st season of 30 Rock. And by watched I mean that I watched and he listened as he drove. Coming into Charlotte we first went to Tom and Rachel's new house to check it out and unload some things. It's a newer house, 2.5 baths, 3 bedrooms and a open kitchen/living area. The neighborhood is pretty compact but they like the closeness of it as they like to get to know their neighbors. Without traffic the drive to Tom and Rachel's from where I'm staying is about half an hour.
We spent the night at Steph and Ricks place (which is where I live now) and then I took Tom to County Command to get the keys to the car they get with the job. The semi arrived that day with all of our belongings so I watched the kids while Rick went and helped Tom unload the truck. Rachel, Hannah, and my mom flew in that night and we all went and ate outside at Chili's and the kids played together.
Each Sunday I've gone to the Charlotte Temple Corps, which is about 15 minutes away from home. The corps is nice---DHQ is in Charlotte so there are a lot of Officers that attend. Because of the outreach going on, there is also a large group of hispanic/black kids that attend as well. The first Sunday that I went they were enrolling 7 new Junior Soldiers from this group and it was pretty awesome. It's also crazy how, I don't know how to say this without offending anyone, but how 'open' the people are at this corps. It's a little more laid back that Flint Citadel though Traditional. There's a small brass band that plays at the beginning of the meeting and during the congregational song but they aren't the main focus. They have family prayer time and (this is where the 'open' part comes in) all the kids get up immediately and go to the altar. When there is testimony time, often many of them stand up at once. It's crazy how eager these kids are about the Salvation Army and Jesus. Inspiring too. Everyone's nice and straight forward about approaching newcomers. Garrett brought a fake snake with him and all these Officer ladies were talking to him about it and pointing out this older Officer guy and saying to go get him with the snake, because he doesn't like them. So Garrett took off after this distinguished unsuspecting Officer and showed him his snake and the Officer pretended to run away and be scared and it was super cute.
I dumped Garrett in the nursery the first week I went and he did great. It's a super small room compared to Flint's nursery but they have organized crafts and movies and several boys a little older than Garrett, but who include him. Hannah, who has never let Rachel leave her alone in the nursery, seems to be flourishing in Charlotte. Last Sunday Rachel sat on the floor in the nursery and Hannah walked away from her and took an empty seat at the kids table where they were working on a craft and hung out!!
I haven't felt any inclination to join the band or start helping with anything, in part because I nanny almost every day and the hours change weekly so I can't commit myself to something I can't do 100%. I am, however, working on finding a job. I'm in no rush just because I want time with the kids and to learn the city before I have no time at all. Also, this city is so huge and there are millions of stores that I don't even know where to start.
Being a live in aunt is 85% good, and 15% bad. Bad because I can get burned out and impatient with the kids and also because I miss Hannah. I've been scouring websites looking for activities and stuff to do with the kids on the days that we are stuck with each other. Most of which I have been to on previous visits, like the indoor water park and Discovery Kids. Garrett's at a weird age where he's not really talking and has selective hearing when it comes to instructions. So I'm a little wary of taking him to the reading hour for kids at Barnes and Noble or the art class they have at select Chick-Fil-A's. Also, I hate zoos and museums so I leave those for his parents to take him to. This kid continually surprises me however. You're never certain how much a child comprehends when they don't talk, but there are days when my jaw drops at the things that Garrett does. He has a select vocabulary. He can say "taco, pizza, cocoa, die, mama, da-da, brush, boat", etc. Sometimes he'll do something out of the norm like give Gabby her sippy cup or put his own dishes away in the sink once he's done eating, but cancels it out by jumping on Gabby or getting into the eggs and smashing them in the carpet. He's in a big boy bed so often you'll wake up and he's in your room with a carton of juice waiting for you to give him a drink.
Gabby is cute as a button. She's sitting up by herself, crawling, and keeps trying to walk. She's teething so it's been...unpleasant. Rick thinks she's getting 6 at once and that kept her sick for awhile. Garrett seemed like he was teething but that turned into some kind of puking/fever thing that has me sick and Steph on the verge of. So who knows who is going to church on Sunday.
This is getting really long. Sorry. But I like it here, I'm continuously impressed by the opulence of houses and cars down here, by the large amount of stores that make you feel poor just saying their eloquent names out loud. There's a mall right by us that is like Somerset on steroids. We have dozens and dozens of Targets and Walmarts and Harris Teeters (huge supermarket chain). So whereas you had to decide whether to hit up Miller Rd or Center Rd Target, or Grand Blanc, Burton, or Flint Walmart, we now have more location choices than time to visit them all.
I'm starting to feel the 'I have no friends here' aspect, as there isn't anyone really my age at the corps and Rick's friends are 20+ years older than me and Steph's are all guys she tries to set me up with (TONIGHT I met the 'Harry Potter' guy she works with >:/ ). Rick and Steph try to get me to leave the house when I have a day off from watching the kids, but where would i go? I went to a movie by myself once. Went to Best Buy another time. I kinda want to go back to school, but the expense would cripple me.
This is it for now. I'm not going to keep posting because my life is no way entertaining, but my brother has a blog detailing what he and Rachel are up to with their jobs so you can follow that.
www.sixonefourcharlotte.blogspot.com
Oh yeah, the city! I forgot. No one cares, but the city of Charlotte is so nice! The downtown is called Uptown and headquarters Wachovia Bank, Bank of America, etc. I know it's not near the same size as Chicago, but the infrastructure of the cities are so different! Whereas Chicago has subways systems and crazy road systems and packed sidewalks and tolls, in Charlotte you can be driving thru what you think it just a normal town and then BAM, a few blocks away you see this giant skyscraper. The Panther's stadium is literally like a block off of the tiny road I take to Tom and Rachel's. However a couple years ago Rick and I walked thru parts of Uptown and I just remember that there was hardly any foot or vehicle traffic. Uptown doesn't seem to have the 'college town' vibe. Charlotte does have a ton of events and stuff that go on---art walks and tons of live music performances. Hoping to hit up something in the future.
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