It’s Almost That Time!

On The Road Again

After 13 plus years in Charlotte, it is almost time to say goodbye. Goodbye to the place we called home. Goodbye to the place we moved to as newlyweds.

We moved from NYC into a big house in a residential neighborhood surrounded by families with young children. From the beginning, it didn’t feel right. The house was lovely; just too big for the two of us. However, we both tried to find our communities; professionally, personally and spiritually. Some things worked out wonderfully and others, not so much.

It was challenging at first. I traveled constantly for my consulting job at IBM and knew nothing of my new neighborhood; except how to get back and forth to the airport, how to find the nearest grocery, and of course, the local Starbucks. That was it for the first year. Oh, and let’s not forget all the streets and churches named after me (Sharon Road, Sharon Lane, Sharon View, Sharon Presbyterian, Sharon Baptist). It felt good to see my name everywhere. I would have preferred a synagogue in my name; but that is a story for another post.

After that first year things began to change quickly. The market tumble of 2008 impacted my job. I lost it. I was grateful for the severance and the ability to dig deep into my newish surroundings and its people. I took the first year off from working and volunteered my heart out. I caught the NC political engagement bug. At first, with the initial Obama presidential campaign. We opened our house for GOTV (get out the vote) and had hundreds of people coming through daily. Most of the experience was positive, and it was a great way to meet people and get to know our new city and it’s politics. I then volunteered for the mayoral campaign for Anthony Foxx. You know that Anthony Foxx who went on to become the Transportation Secretary under Obama.

However after a year, I realized I needed to get back to work. I still kept my political passion engaged, and a few years later I got the opportunity to volunteer again when the Democratic National Convention (DNC) came to town.

I went back to being a business owner and grew my coaching and training business on both the corporate and private client sides. My business went through a big shift when I realized I turned the age my mother was when she died. I decided, at that moment, to rename and rebrand my firm in her memory; I’m Not Done Yet. Since then I have not stopped working with that same passion and commitment.

I got involved with professional and non profit local organizations i.e. Chamber of Commerce, Women Executives, Dress for Success, Center for Hope and Social Venture Partners. I initiated a monthly luncheon called ‘Let’s Do Lunch – Your Life UnCorked’ for a few years, collaborated with The Mint Museum on a two cool initiatives, and spoke to a variety of public/private groups. I won some awards and was published along the way too. My coaching and training firm, http://www.iamnotdoneyet.com gave me the opportunity to make a direct impact on the lives of others; and at the same time, some of my clients have turned into dear friends.

Charlotte is not an easy town to do business in, if you are not from here. It took me a long time to gain the confidence and trust of the business community. This is the South and people here do business with people they know and trust. No relationship = no business. It is not a transactional town and I found this out the hard way. I gave away countless hours of pro bono work. In the end, I was successful, a bit exhausted but successful.

Charlotte has two progressive and innovative healthcare systems that took care of both of us when we were sick. The doctors and other medical professionals are top rate. I also had the privilege of calling one of them, a client.

I learned a lot of new things here. I trained for and received my YTT (yoga teacher training) certificate, and found a yoga studio to call home, Yoga For Life. I continued my personal growth and participated in QPL (very similar to Landmark Education which I participated in many of their programs while I lived in NYC), McColl Center’s Innovation Institute and I continued my professional development online with U of Penn Positive Psychology Program and Institute for Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching Program.

I learned how to swim and completed, not one, but two sprint triathlons. It took a village to support me and I am grateful to my swim coaches, my bike coach and the many others who taught me so much (I know I am not the easiest student). I learned that it is hard to show up and be vulnerable in the company of strangers. My old response was to be somewhat abrupt. Now I am able to do so with grace and humility. I am able to accomplish at the same time as being fearful. The deep water does not scare me anymore!

I learned how to bottle feed kittens. The city girl learned how to grow a small garden with herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Once the hornworms came out at night and ate all my peppers, I was done. I thought it would be best to support the local farmers instead.

I never figured out the appeal of pimento cheese (which to me is simply Velveeta with pimentos), sweetened ice tea (my teeth hurt after a cupful), Nascar and fried turkey.

Locally, we visited Savannah, Charleston, the South Carolina beaches, Asheville, the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville, Greensboro and Atlanta from here. Flying out of the CLT airport was easy to get to and is predominately served by a single carrier, American. We found less expensive and creative ways to travel overseas which we did as frequently as we could. We are looking forward to continuing our global travels once the world moves to a safer place.

Charlotte is a wonderful place to move to if you are a young professional, a family with kids, or adults looking to be near their children and grandchildren. It is a hard place to make friends if you are child-free adults. Charlotte, in general, has a great sense of community/civic pride and spirit. Even though it still remains a city divided on racial, economic and religious levels. It is a city that spends a lot of time in conversation about these important issues; and more practical and tangible steps need to be taken to close those gaps. There has been a lot of changes in the 13 years we have lived here, and there are a lot more changes needed to make Charlotte a truly inclusive and equitable city. I participated in some of these conversations. There are some wonderful people doing the important and necessary work and I hope they are able to push conversation into action.

I belonged to the local JCC and volunteered with the Jewish Federation and other Jewish agencies in town. Philanthropy and my Jewishness are very important to me. My Jewishness never truly found a home here; and don’t get me started on the lack of jewish delis, appetizing and other traditional treats.

During the pandemic, I tried with a few (three to be exact) organizations to create a sense of virtual community and engagement with its members. It didn’t work out the way I had hoped. The pandemic’s impact of my emotional well-being was hard. I felt isolated and alone. Thank goodness for my amazing husband Mark. I tried multiple ways to mitigate it, and in the end it simply took time and action to heal.

We are now relocating to a place I never ever thought I would move to – We are moving to south Florida. The global pandemic changed a lot for us, as it did for so many. We are moving to be closer to our aging dads. I have lived in NYC CA, KY, CT and now NC. Who knows, we may love living in south Florida. And, after time, if we dislike living there, we will simply move to France (I need to convince my husband first).

I hope we will be missed. I will cherish the memories; the good, the bad and all the in between. Until we meet again, in person or virtually.

au revoir mes amis