Packed up (sorta) and moving out (mostly)

So I mentioned awhile back that I was moving (again) and today is a big day! My parents and 'little' brother are here in Raleighwood for the weekend to help me move! My papa and his big Landcruiser are here to transport things like furniture and other pieces that just wont fit in the Volvo. This way, I can get most of my stuff out of house A and into house B, but still have a couple weeks (through the end of the month) to finish packing up and cleaning as time allows. Apparently the landlords are VERY particular and want it spotless upon moving out. Our next door neighbors, who moved in after, had to face a ridiculous deposit amount since the people that lived there before did not leave it exactly spotless. So the landlords have upped the ante. I have no idea if that's how you would spell that phrase, but you know what I mean, right?

Anyway, last night at dinner, PT (the little bro - senior in highschool) asked if I thought I'd ever move back to Virginia. I thought about it for a second, as many have asked me that actually. As much as I love Virginia, I've been rather nostalgic as of late too, I don't know if I'd go back. Knowing my parents are there, and that PT will most likely go to college there, I have reasons to go back, to get my fix. I love it in Raleigh... As far as I'm concerned, I'll be here unless a man makes me move. Seriously, I'll be going back to school in January, the school systems in Wake Country are wonderful, I've really begun making a life here, it has everything I have ever wanted. I sometimes wonder what about Richmond, or Charlottesville, or Charleston.... but for now, I'm stuck. So I'm asking you, if you live in Raleigh, what is your favorite thing about living here (or one of them). One of my favorite things about Raleigh, is that it's big enough to meet new people every day, and yet, if you want, you can run into people all the time at the grocery store, the bars, etc. I love, that it's beginning to really take off and grow, and that I can say, even in the short 2 years that I've lived here "Remember when blah blah blah wasn't there?!".

But I think my all time favorite thing about Raleigh, is that it's the City of the Oaks. When I was little, when we lived on The Farm (I'll talk about that later), I planted and oak tree. Dug a little hole, I could still show you where, and up came a little tree. When we moved, I just HAD to take that tree with me. I was very attached to this tree and refused to leave it behind. It was quite small still, maybe a foot tall, so along with Bert the beagle my favorite stuffed animal, and my little red "Going to Grandma's" suitcase, my little oak tree was one of my prized possessions. 20 years later, that little sapling is a full blown hunk of a tree. I told my parents they could never move, because I just don't think we'd be able to dig my tree up and take it with us this time.