Goodbye to Camden

I definitely have mixed feelings about moving back to Maryland. I'm excited about living in Hampstead and to be done moving. I really like the house-Rog and I used to push Nat in her stroller down Whetstone Court and wish we could afford to live there. It will be nice to be close to friends and family, but I will miss our SC friends terribly. They keep assuring me we'll talk on Facebook, but I'll miss our play dates at Rectory Square, scrap booking, and just hanging out with everyone at their houses. Natalie and Anthony have really enjoyed all the kids- Tarah, Noah, Katie, Kristen, Palmer, Teige, Shea, Spencer, Andrew, and Carson. It's the first group of friends we've had whose moms stay home, so we were able to do lots of fun things during the day instead of just at night or on the weekends. In fact, we're all getting together for one last hoorah on Thursday.
I'll also miss Camden. I really love the town and its infrastructure. I planned on sending the kids to high school here. I'll miss the climate, the beautiful old houses, the antique stores, the Fine Arts Center, Mulberry Street Market, Hampton, Rectory Square, Kendall, and Scott Parks, Goodale State Park, Super Walmart, the pool, Bethesda church and preschool, and being able to walk to both Natalie's school, Anthony's school, and the library. I'll miss the dogs walking around and utilizing cross walks like it's a Disney movie or something. I also like Columbia, Sandhills, and Myrtle Beach. I'll miss our private Chuckee Cheese in Sumter. A part of me will miss our little house on Walnut Street (mostly the location) but not the gas bill! I won't miss fire ants either. But seriously, Camden is a great town and everyone is so nice.
Living here has taught Roger and I alot about what is important in the life of our family. It hasn't been easy- we got robbed in the first week and we lost so much momentum trying to find a lot and then waiting months to settle on it. Everyone was homesick at some point. Some days it just seemed like one thing after another. We had really fun times too though.
It's funny, looking back, but in hindsight it was a really good thing that we moved to Camden and we both say we wouldn't trade it for the world. Some not-so-good stuff happened in MD while we were gone, and we shudder to think where we would be if we had stayed. We would really be struggling if we still had the Finksburg house- while we were gone C&R made paycut after paycut. Camden worked as a protective bubble for us, putting our lives on pause until the storm subsided.
As we head back to MD, I'm nervous and sad but I know it's not the end and I'll definitely be back to visit this beautiful place and my wonderful friends...