I know the title of this entry is trite…  but hear me out.    The longer I live the more I believe it is true.  The change that I have seen in the little town of Denver, NC in the past six years is evidence.

Six plus years ago when we announced to my mother in law, who is as close as you can get to a Lincolnton, NC native as you can get without being born there, that we were moving to Denver, NC you would have thought that we had announced…  well, I dont know what to compare it to…  all I know is that she looked at my husband and me as if we had six heads a piece.  Today as I drove north on NC Highway 16 (the old 2 lane one) I thought back to the Denver of 2001 and could see a little of why she had the response she did.  Never would she have imagined that it would be what it is today…  or what it is growing toward. 

The Denver that we moved to was a stop light at the 73 and 16 intersection.  There was a Food Lion, a couple of gas stations, a Burger King (HA…  betcha didnt know that…  now it is the Bojangles!), McDonalds, Arby’s and a sign teasing us that one day we would have a Harris Teeter.  It was rumored that they would not build until they could sell beer in their store…  Yes, at one time in the relatively recent past Lincoln County was dry.  Now we have our very own ABC store on the south end…  its tucked away so no one would really notice it…  but we are in the Bible Belt, ya’ll.  We spent most of the first few years we lived here either going to Huntersville or Lincolnton for all of the necessities of life beyond groceries.  We had small kids…  and no pediatrician.  Now we have Dr. Nadra for the little ones and an entire “East Lincoln Health Care Pavillion.”  If you wanted to work out you went to Huntersville or way up 16 to Fit Dimension.  NOW we have LKN Athletic Club and are in the process of getting a YMCA underway.  There was no Safari Miles, Pepperocini’s, or Sports Page.  If you wanted a night out you had to drive across Lake Norman…  to the ritzy side!  When I wanted to shop at Walmart I would have to plan an outing to Mooresville…  in a few short months we will have one of our very own.

Yes, this little sleepy “town” has changed and there has been nothing anyone could do to stop it.  Because that is what happens in the world…  it changes and we adapt.  And, if we are lucky, we keep loving this life regardless.