There She Goes & Other Things

by Tom

So today Martha left Wilmington to move back home to be a schoolteacher for this next year.  That bites.  Still, I'm pretty excited for her... she's near her family, she's teaching at a really good school, and she's not that far away from Wilmington.  This is a bonus considering I'm fortunate enough to be scheduled at Port City Church for nearly every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or whatever day they need and that puts a heavy limit on how much traveling I can do on the weekends (the whole Senior-in-college-writing-a-thesis thing makes mid-week trips tough).  Of course, we've known this day was coming for some time, and it's given me some pause to think.  There are changes coming for me, too.  They're just delayed.

It's been interesting to think ahead to next year; and to think back.  I've lived in Wilmington since freshman year in high school, my nearly-7-years here a new high for how long I've managed to stay in one place.  Wilmington is home now, as much as I like to pretend my heart is in Northwest Arkansas (Go Razorbacks!).  It's here I jumped in headfirst into PC3 back when it was a 300-attendee single-service church meeting in a middle school.  I got my first "real job" here, writing the previous incarnation of the church's website from scratch.  It's here I learned how to play electric guitar, and at Port City that I got the opportunity to play nearly every week for the last 6 years.

I've recorded a handful of CDs here, played literally hundreds of services at a dozen venues, and met some amazing people.  I managed to survive the awkwardness and intimidation of being the only "kid" in a large group of adult musicians and grew up into something resembling a peer.  I had the best small group anybody could ask for here while I was in high school (Chris was in it also, and Paul was our fearless leader, hah).  Here I learned it was alright to doubt, to ask hard questions, to be honest; no fronts are needed.  I made it through homeschool-high school here, took courses at a community college, and made it into the Honors Program at UNCW.  I've watched Overflow grow from it's semi-awkward inception to the amazing group of people it is now.  I've watched the youth group go through some rough changes and come through okay.  I've made it through 3 years of college with good grades and a good reputation.  I met Martha here, and we've had quite a good time here in just a short year-and-a-half.

It's funny... I feel old now as I sit here writing this, listening to some crazy B-Side material from the Aravis record.  I'm growing up.  I've always acted older than I am, but now my responsibilities are catching up - along with the pressure.  I'm about to be a Senior.  I'm writing a thesis on a topic in physics I can't explain in any detail in less than 15 minutes.  I'm about to write another record with Matt Blair & co.  I'm in a serious, long-distance relationship.  I'm gearing up to take a test that very well may determine the course of my next 6 years(?).  This time next year, I may very well no longer live in Wilmington.  I might be in graduate school, I might be doing God-knows-what-else.  That is a scary thing!

And I was thinking... what is the ONE thing I would miss most about Wilmington?  The beach?  Umm... no.  The weather?  Haha... no.  My friends?  For sure; I'm scared to death in social situations, and I love my friends.  I am occasionally amazed I have any.  Still... that's not what I'll miss most.  I think more than anything I'll miss Port City Community Church.  (Of course, this is a bit of a cop-out; pretty much all my friends are inextricably tied to the church somehow so it's kind of a package deal).  It's interesting how important the Church has been to me while I've been here.  I'm not on staff.  I'm relatively unimportant in the grand scheme of things... I play musical instruments and such.  But it's given me a place to grow and learn and serve and figure things out and get my legs under me and find value in myself and a million other things.  And I'm starting to think that has meant everything.

So thanks Martha, Duane, Brooks, Jeets, Paul, Missy, Eric, Paschal, Raff, Sean, Dave, Rich, Matt, Evan, Mike, Mark, Chris, Richie, Brian, and the hundred other people who have had to deal with me on a regular basis.  Hopefully I've done something right for you all also.

So who knows what will come of me?  I'm pretty excited to find out!  It will be an adventure, this is for sure.

Tom Current Listening: Aravis, Sigur Rós, Matt Blair, Radiohead, Eddie Kirkland.