A Different Kind of Calm After A Different Kind of Storm

About one and a half months ago, I accepted a job offer that would relocate us to NC.  Our news came as a surprise to many, but Scott and I had been talking about changing things up for some time.  We couldn’t have fathomed the intensity and velocity of this change.  During this brief period, we –

• Listed our house we've lived in for 26 years (for me, 39 years!)
• Celebrated Scott's 50th birthday by island hopping Marco > Sanibel > Captiva
• Sold our house
• Packed and purged (did I mention 39 years?!?!?)
• Made impressively monstrous to-do lists
• Connected with as many family and friends as possible
• Resigned from our jobs
• Prepared for new job
• Found/secured temporary housing in NC
• Completed first road trip to NC

There were things we missed, things we had to reprioritize, and things we simply had to let go of.  Running took a major back seat.  Eating well was a challenge (we celebrated any meal not found between two pieces of bread).  Due to the crazy pace and moving parts, sleep was hard to come by.  We were extremely lucky to have engaged a phenomenal broker who helped sell our house so quickly, and to find an apartment that fits us as well as it does.  We are so grateful to have family and friends so supportive of our adventure – even though it meant we’d be farther away.

 

As I write this post, I am curled up on our only piece of furniture in our new apartment.  And I’m actually hand writing it because I have no computer and no internet (to post later).  The apartment is completely quiet; no TV, no internet, no Scott, no Bella.  I went for my first solo run earlier, ate dinner in solitude, and at 6:00 pm, ran out of things to do.  Weird.

This will be short lived.

 

Tomorrow, I start my new job.  I begin by jumping on a flight to Chicago.  Hey, if you’re going to live out of suitcases, does it really matter which city or state you’re in?  For now, I will soak up the solitude and quietly celebrate having survived the last one and a half months of a hectic, emotional, scary, and exciting rollercoaster ride.  Tomorrow, I meet new people in another new city and start a new chapter in my career.  Friday, I return to NC, where Scott and Bella will be waiting for me.  And the solitude will be replaced with the wonderful sounds of home.