I haven’t written in thishereblog in a while. The truth is, I’ve been in a waiting mode to see what the next chapter of my life is going to look like.
My days in western Kansas are getting numbered. I accepted a job in the eastern part of the state and start on April 1. I’ve been deep in the throes of house selling for a while now.
I have faith that it will all work out in the end. In the meantime, I want to talk about some of the moments that I’ve lived through over the past 10 years in my hometown.
For those of you who might not know, the past year of my life can most accurately be described as a hurricane. (And it’s not lost on me that after a hurricane comes a rainbow.)
Last year when the pandemic started, I was told to work from home from the company that I had worked for for 8.5 years. I didn’t think much of it. I went to the office, grabbed what I needed, said my goodbyes, and went home, where I worked for a month.
It was fine, until it wasn’t. My job was there one minute and then gone the next. Suddenly, I found myself jobless in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, which is not something I took lightly.
I didn’t take it very well at all. I’m better now, but let’s just say that there were some very, very dark days in the past year of my life.
It takes a lot to move. It takes a lot to job search in a new town. It takes a lot to pack up everything you own, say goodbye to the house that you love, and say goodbye to the town that you grew up in.
It takes a lot to say goodbye, period.
But for now, I’m going to focus on what my hometown gave me over the past 10 years.
The thing that I love most is that it gave me some pretty cool travels.
I got to attend South by Southwest in Austin. I spent a week on the beach in Cancun. I spent a long weekend with a love interest in Oklahoma City. I went to concerts in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Missouri and Tennessee, and so, so much more.
I was front row at a concert in Durant, Oklahoma, which is closer to Dallas than Oklahoma City, when I got my favorite singer’s autograph. I went to that concert a week after a relationship ended. I was so thankful that happened, because that guy would not have gone to that concert with me.
I was front row-ish at a concert in Nashville, alongside 56,000 other people in an NFL stadium. I toured the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. I fell in love, I fell out of love. A few times.
And I don’t regret that.
The past month of my life has been filled with realtors, insurance agents, roofing companies, adjusters, foundation companies, bankers, and other random people and companies that it takes to move to a new city.
Have I mentioned how much it takes to move to a new city?!? Selling your old 121-year-old house and moving across the state takes a lot.
Like, a lot lot.
Tomorrow is the first day of my new life. The past month, I’ve been stuck in what I call the ‘in-between.’ Also known as purgatory. One foot out of one door while a foot in another door. There’s still some ‘in-between’ going on, and likely will be until both of my houses close.
If you would have told me a year ago that I would have a new phone number, a new town, a new job, and a new vaccination, I would have called you a liar.
It takes a lot to completely change your life.
I think me (finally!) moving is a lesson in how to let go of things not meant for you. That goes for jobs, relationships, and even...teeth. Sometimes you just have to walk away for things not meant for you.
I was thinking on my drive to my new town today. There are two types of people in the world. There are people who want better for themselves, and there are people who are perfectly happy with what they have who don’t want any aspect of their life to change.
I definitely fall into the first category. I might add that there’s nothing inheritely wrong with the second category, other than those people aren’t very fun (for me) to date.
I’m always going to want to better my life. And this move is definitely a step in the right direction.
(Here's a picture of Nashville, just because.)
