The Winds of Change

As it happens, I was hit with some compelling emotions today. With Pandora playing in the background of my thoughts, I was contemplating the days to come. The song 'Home' by Phil Phillips came on the station and consequently brought a flood of happiness, sadness, excitement, and uncertainty. Over the next few days I will be graduating from college, packing my whole life up (again), saying goodbye to some dear friends and driving across the country to a new home. Now, now... I've done this before. Not graduate college, but pack up and move across the country into a land of unknown. However, it feels completely different this time.

It was here, in Texas, that was my first home away from the 'nest'. Here that Ben and I first lived together in a quaint apartment. Here that I devoted my time and sanity to art school. Here that I became married. Here that we moved into our first house together. Here that I met some amazing people that quickly became my dearest friends. Here that I have already said goodbye to some of them (to the likes of California and Houston) and will say goodbye to more very soon. It was here that I somehow survived Ben's deployment to Iraq and actually lived by myself. Here that we added one dog and one cat to our family. And here that I grew up.

I've lived in Texas for two and half years, which feels like days and an eterntity at the same time. I've felt emotions across the board here. Happiness, lonlieness, stress, love, homesickness. I would be lying if I said it wasn't very difficult at times. Some of the negatives: Teaching myself that every noise isn't a burglar, two months straight of over one hundred degree temperatures, DSW, missing holidays with my family, a virtual marriage via skype for a year, grackles. Some positives: Drake, Apollo, DSW (in some weird way), school, Bren Ramirez, Heidi Goehring, being two minutes from anything I could possibly want, Sunday nights with my two 80 year old neighbors playing a 12-string guitar and singing the blues, learning to be independent.

My smoking and guitar strumming neighbors have given me some invaluable advice on life. Two things that stand out the most are “Don't make a mountain out of a molehill” and “Live daily.”

Live daily... Sounds good to me.

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