Author Cheryl Cox, with family

Written by Cheryl Cox, a client (and friend!) of Courtney’s, and new resident on the Shore. Thank you, Cheryl!

A pandemic is certainly nothing that any of us anticipated or even imagined would enter our lives in March of 2020. As we all stayed in, found hobbies, took lots of walks and quarantined ourselves with just our immediate family, my family found ourselves surprisingly headed in a direction that we never could have imagined.

It all started with a basement flood. Looking back now, I am so incredibly grateful for that flood. The flood led to a total remodel of the basement, which led to a fixing up of the bathroom, then the kitchen and then the master bathroom. On top of these projects, my family started taking “Sunday drives” (or really any day, because we had nothing else to do!) over to a particular community on the Eastern Shore which we knew about from friends called Prospect Bay. My husband and I started doing the “what if” conversation, and “how could we”, and “would we dare?” Ultimately, we connected with our Realtor, Courtney, who proceeded to show us many houses in Prospect Bay, and finally, “the one” was revealed to us. We fell in love with everything about this new home and property. We sold our newly renovated home and moved in December of 2020 to the Shore...did we have any idea what was in store for us? We hoped, but we were living on a prayer at this point. Did I mention we have two teenage girls? Yes, moving them wouldn’t be easy, but we had a feeling this was meant to be, and we jumped in with two feet!

The Cox Family’s new home in Prospect Bay

Fast forward, we have been on the Shore now for a year. A year of peace, a year of small-town kindness and inclusivity, a year of taking it a bit slower. The Eastern Shore has so many amazing features that set it apart from the Western Shore, just 30 minutes away. Every single day since we have lived here, I wake up with a feeling of peace that I never knew existed. What is it exactly? Hard to pinpoint one thing, I think it is truly the combination of many factors that cause you to drive over the Bay Bridge and literally breathe a sigh of relief. It’s the kids outside riding their bikes or playing basketball. It’s the golf carts rolling by headed to see the sunset with a glass of wine. It is waking up, looking out the window and seeing the beauty that is the Shore. It is the Friday afternoon happy hour boat ride. It is the feeling of community, where all are kind despite differences and age and backgrounds. It is the small town feel with Christmas trees being sold at the volunteer fire house, and everyone knowing everyone at the local restaurants on a Sunday afternoon. It is the ability to go for a hike, bike ride, a meal, or coffee, all with views of the overwhelming beautiful Bay.

With my current profession, I travel back over the bridge every single weekday. I lived right over that bridge for 15 years, yet my life feels completely different than it did before. I look at my teenagers and I see how much happier they are here. They can live a little simpler, and within that, they have found their peace. Teenage life is still alive and well, but the smaller community has had its’ great advantages. As for my husband and I, we have been able to connect with new friends on a different level and share in the simplicity of friendship...fire pits, boat rides, grilling out and the like. My morning routine of waking up to my coffee is so deeply enhanced by the beauty of the water, the deer hanging in the yard and the quiet that is the shore.

Our peace on earth is here, on the Eastern Shore. As I decorate for Christmas this year, celebrating one year in our new home, I am grateful for taking this risk and celebrating the life we have recreated for ourselves in this beautiful place.

“Home should be an anchor, a port in a storm, a refuge, a happy place in which to dwell, a place where we can love and be loved.” -Marvin Ashton

Yep, that’s the Eastern Shore...peace on Earth.