You Gotta Believe….Sandbox Writing Challenge

Before we start our new book via The Sandbox Writing Challenge next week, we’ve got one more interim challenge to keep us in the writing groove….the question posed to us was…..

` When was the last time not getting what you wanted turned out to be a stroke of luck?

I know there have been many times this has happened,,,,but the one that stands out right now for me was how we ended up here. 

Before this little island ever became our ‘home’ it wasn’t even on our radar. We were actually at one point looking into buying a home in one of the many lake communities up in Northern Pa. We spent a few weekends with a relator looking at lake homes, and then we found ‘the one’. 

this isnt ‘the one’ but its close

I was extremely excited..I had visions of cozy winters by the wood stove ..holidays with the kids………all that was standing in the way was $$$$$$. Without going into personal details, when things were finalized…the $$$$$ disappeared……….to say we were disappointed is an understatement…but very quickly we realized there wasn’t a thing we could do about it. Instead, we found a small place to rent, and proceeded to move along in our lives……..and then, one weekend in October ’06, we decided to take a road trip…a coin was tossed, heads Mystic Connecticut…tails Chincoteage Virginia. Tails won…………….we came down here, me knowing full well the story of Misty, but nothing more than that…….little did we know, as we drove across the causeway to this little island, that 4 months later it would be our home. We felt the pull almost immediately. We spent 4 days visiting and getting to know the island, met some amazing people, and fell in love with everything about this place. We went back to Pa, but found we could not get Chincoteague out of our minds hearts. 

So, in December, I emailed a relator, inquired about year round rentals and made an appointment to meet in early February. To make a long story shorts, we came for three days, found a place, and 3 weeks later we were here……we arrived with no jobs, just a few dollars in our pockets, but we were together and we were living by the sea….we would figure things out as we went along……

Within a few weeks of moving here, a job became available that brought hubby out of retirement and back into a control tower…2 months later he was working and I was volunteering at the library….it was then we adopted the mantra “you gotta Believe”……… 

There is no doubt in my mind we were meant to be here. If we had purchased that home in PA, we would never have flipped that coin…………
Next month will be 10 years since that first visit……we still greet each and every day Believing and Living our island life……..and we Treasure every moment of our NOW……

POSTSCRIPT: THAT SUMMER…THE DRAGONFLIES CAME 💙