three months later…

I can hardly believe it, but only three months have passed since my last post.  My silence is indicative of all the big changes that have occurred since then: selling, giving away, and packing all of my belongings; saying goodbye to my friends and my students; driving across the country alone (!) and exploring new sites and cities (!!); and arriving home in time to spend the holidays with my family.  The first month of 2010 has been well spent working on finding a job and getting organized, and now that February has already arrived, I’m gearing up to set some goals for myself.

But let’s back up a moment!  After my announcement in November, I went through a whirlwind of preparations, beginning with boxing up my books, shoes, purses, and other extraneous items, selling all of my furniture over Thanksgiving weekend, and trying to figure out how to pack my tiny Corolla with belongings either too heavy, too valuable, or too fragile for UPS or USPS.  (Perhaps I’ll make another post in the future with suggestions.)  It wasn’t as difficult or as frustrating as I’d anticipated, though I did have to give away a number of things I’d hoped to take with me at the last moment, including my beloved plants!

Besides the obvious packing aspect, I also set to visiting some San Diego sights I’d managed not to get to over the three years I lived there, and revisiting others that I loved. Mostly I said goodbye to the Pacific Ocean and the lovely ocean (and sunset) views.

This is taken from the beach after a lovely hike through Torrey Pines State Reserve.

This was the classic sunset shot I always intended to get at Swami’s Beach in Encinitas.

While I do miss the San Diego sunsets, I truly do believe that sometimes you just need to leap and trust your instincts. For me, it was fitting that the sun went down just as I crossed the border into Arizona on my road trip. But the details of the amazing cross-country road trip will be saved for a future post. For now I want to say that every day I am thankful that I took charge of my life and decided to leave a less-than-perfect situation for something new. Or rather, something familiar, revisited after years of independence, growth, and change, which allows me to see through a new perspective.