Dear Amanda,

This past Sunday I was driving back to Charlotte after a lovely weekend in Raleigh with Ken. I had been looking forward to the drive only because of the time change and the extra daylight. The truth is, I was tired of driving back and forth -- three weekends in a row. I was itching to get home, because Monday brought the end of spring break and the beginning of a new rotation, which I felt I needed to prepare for. Anyway.

After three weekends of driving from Charlotte to Raleigh and back again, I had pretty well exhausted the cross-section of my CD collection that lives in my car. (I know, I'm old school. CDs are just easier for me when driving. My iPod is easier for me at the gym.) Approaching the last 45 minutes or so of my two and a half hour drive, I popped in a CD I hadn't listened to in maybe a year or more, and I got lost in a wave of nostalgia almost immediately. It was Kate Voegele's Don't Look Away. Specifically, I landed on the title track.

At first, I thought that the album reminded me of how much I miss Wilmington. I was in Wilmington when I bought it, the spring before I left. I know it was in the spring because I bought a beach chair from Wal Mart the same day. My mom was in town visiting my grandfather (and me.)

Yeah, at first I thought it reminded me of how much I miss Wilmington, but that wasn't it. It reminded me of a part of my life that doesn't exist anymore and can't possibly exist ever again, but that I miss very much. I miss the people there the most, but I also miss little things -- like the way my apartment smelled on the day I moved in. And Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn. I miss Wednesday night dinner dates with my grandfather and taking long walks on Wrightsville Beach all by myself. I miss Sunday lunches with my extended family, when my grandmother was still alive and before Emily and Franklin left for college. Like I said, I miss the people the most.

There's even a part of me that misses passing out in Davis' bed -- perhaps the most platonic relationship I've ever had with a boy. And I certainly miss gossiping with you.

Yes, there are a lot of things I miss about Wilmington and about my former life there. But I've grown a lot since I left, and I'm lucky to have people there still who I love, so I'll always be coming back.

"It's only life."


XOXO,
Kitty