New Discoveries

Since we've been in South Carolina almost a week now, I felt like I should share all the new discoveries we've experienced in just this short time. We are starting to feel a little more at home with each new day and with each new box that is unpacked and removed from our sight.

A few key things that we've discovered so far:

1. Being in a "hurry" is a relative term. To me, when I hurry, I am winded and flushed and I'm moving at such a high speed that my thoughts seldom can even keep up, let alone my six year old and her little legs. When you are in a "hurry" in south Carolina you are thinking you just might do something in the next half hour. For example, on the first day of school for the kids we decided not to just pop them on the bus but instead to drive them and walk them in to each of their classrooms. We arrived and were shocked at the length of the drop off line but we had left plenty of time so weren't to concerned. By the time everyone kissed their kids goodbye and chatted with the teachers and waved at their neighbors, we were pushing our time. Once in the building at the main office Josh asked the school secretary when the "late" bell was. She verified that yes, indeed it was overdue already by 10 minutes but that since the parent drop-off line was still a decent size they would not be issuing tardies until it died down a bit. Wow! Totally not what we are used to AT ALL! When school starts, it starts! If you are late, you're late! Not here at our schools, ya know, because you could be having a slower start to your day than you expected. Funny, too, when you are dealing with customer relations and they are taking forever (in our time zone) you just can't help but stay calm just because everyone is so sweet and willing to help. So, my friends, being in a "hurry" is relative to where exactly you are on the map.
2. We found out rather quickly that when the weather man says "tomorrow the chance of rain is 100%" HE MEANS RAIN! To me, these are monsoons! Raincoats are not just an item of fashion, they are a necessity! If you do not have a raincoat, you might as well bring a bar of soap and some shampoo, because you will be wet, and why not just make good use of your time. Here's a picture of the girls sporting their fabulous raincoats!
3. Piggly Wiggly is not just a made for movies name for the local grocery. No, it really exists. People even say it in conversation without breaking into a gut wrenching fit of laughter. "Well, have you seen the deal at the PigglyWiggly....." I think it is just hysterical and I can't help but smile every time I drive by. Now, what they fail to tell you on the teeny bopper movies is that you can "save big with your pig card". I've yet to pick one up, but I promise I will be the proud owner of my very own pig card in the near future.
4. Seeing that our license plates are from Colorado, a neighbor stopped by the other day to ask if I had noticed the dolphins in the ocean. As she was asking me, she was pointing directly across the street. Without hesitation or even thinking of what a buffoon I was sounding like I blurted out "that is the ocean?". You see, everywhere you go here is a body of water. I realized we are right on the coast and I realized that my neighbors have boats on their boat docks I just didn't know it was the ocean directly across the street from me. I have a huge lake type thing in my backyard so I figured it was one in their backyards too. I am a Colorado girl, where we call our reservoirs "beaches"! After analyzing this for a few days I relate it to being in Colorado asking a new neighbor if they saw how clear the mountains looked and them responding with "those are mountains". Anyway, I did see the dolphins from my front porch (pin dots, but I saw them) and now I understand why living on the golf course, in a gated community with a pool that resembles a five star resort pales in comparison to living across the street from the crab docks that everyone was so impressed with! It's because crabs=ocean.....duh!!! Here's a picture of the ocean from our master bedroom retreat:
5. Shutters on houses really have a purpose. When we first looked at our house I noticed the shutter on one of the upstairs bedroom windows was looking like it wasn't fully secured to the house. uuuummmm....that's because it's not. Ya know, in Colorado we have shutters, but they are nailed down on all four corners and completely stationary so that when it snows the decorative little objects don't go plummeting to the ground in a million pieces. Here, in South Carolina, they actually use the shutters! Mine can actually open and close shut. It's a little frightening in the middle of the night when a wind storm comes up and they aren't completely closed shut and you hear banging at your bedroom window but that's a whole other blog post. I've been told that if a hurricane comes I need to be sure they are shut.....hhhmmmmm!
6. The things they are wearing on their wrists are not your typical rubber band bracelets. When Emma went to her first day of school, she noticed the kids wearing rubber bands around their wrists like bracelets. She thought it was a little goofy, enough so that she even told me about this fashion disaster. Now that she's lasted a week and made some friends I couldn't help but notice this:
   

What she found out, is that these are not just rubber band bracelets! No, when you take them off, they are all kinds of different shapes. See:

I still don't get why that's so neat but I guess after a week, she has found the value in it.

So, just like anything new, these things seem so foreign to us now. I am sure after being here awhile, just like Emma, we will be living life not even realizing that what we are doing may seem so odd to someone else.