Lessons in Learning How to Rest, Part Ten.

Lesson Ten: Seize the Day OR 30 Days = 30 Chances
I recently said yes to a job that I normally would have said no to. Maybe it was because this City Girl has been missing life on The Ranch. Or maybe it was because recent changes have proved to weigh a little heavier on this heart than was anticipated. In any event, for the next 30 days I will be living just far enough away from The Beach that my city life will be taking a backseat to dusty roads, pie making and hauling hay.

Day One I started to think that maybe I had made a huge mistake. Life at The Beach wasn't exactly booming, but it wasn't all that bad was it? And while I did want a break from the monotony of overcast days and the white noise of rolling waves, did I really want to live 30 miles out of town with three horses and two dogs that feel like the equivalent of five foster children? I started to wonder what I had done. Just what had I signed on for?

Day Two looked a little better since a dinner with other humans was scheduled and I managed to finagle a wifi setup, but the nagging feeling of being in way over my head was still plaguing me. Today is Day Three and the feeling was still here. I had been trying to get a routine down and plugging away at some greatly neglected work to fill the time. But busyness does not cure heartache or change or even the occasional loneliness. So I stopped being busy and just sat and listened and thought to myself.

For the next 30 days I will have 30 chances to do...anything! I have 30 chances to get better at yoga, hike and see the sights, make new friends, dream up new business ideas, learn something new, grow spiritually, or just be present. I have 30 days that could change my life or I have 30 days that I can let make my life a misery.

So, once again, this City Girl is taking a leap. This time into undiscovered waters of unknown depth.

Smitten. Not Head Over Heels.

In the trenches of a serious conversation with a recent flame the words "smitten" and "head over heels" was thrown into our mix of sentences. And it went something like this: smitten is not head over heels. And while he ended up proving my point for me, it was better said coming out of his mouth. And he was right. Smitten isn't head over heels. In fact, smitten is nothing more than being infatuated. Head over heels, however, is something to write home about. Scream from mountain tops. Soak up every second of and make a fuss about.

I have recently become smitten by (with the possibility of being head over heels for) a new city. I was smitten by The Second City, no doubt. However, since my latest road trip I think I'm about to be head over heels for a new city. A new city that could quite possibly become my new home by the spring. It was fun, kitschy, had amazing public transportation, beautiful and full of possibility. Essentially, it had everything I look for when I have city love in mind. And this time I may have found what I've been looking for.

Stay tuned...

Onward, ho!

Lately, this City Girl has been tossing around the idea of moving. Again. This time to destination unknown, but possibly further north. As of now, I have no plans. I had no plans even when I moved to The Lake. I've been without a plan and goalless for some time now. Very, very unlike me.

My blood pressure has dropped, too. Also, very unlike me. Ha ha!

I wouldn't say that I dislike life in The Country, but I'm not overly excited to go back to it either. I'm...in transition. So for now, the house buying shenanigans are still a possibility as is the prospect of moving to a city (a city!!!) and starting a new life there.

Stay tuned...

What am I doing exactly?

Oh that's right....I'm moving.

I'm moving away from all things familiar, convenient and comfortable to a place that I said I would NEVER move back to.

I can just hear my mother's haunting voice in my head: "Never say never!"

And in case that doesn't make you a little queasy, (because let's face it: everyone has that one thing they've sworn they'll never do) I'm thinking about buying a house there. Buying. A house. As in, let's play Pyramid!













Oh! Oh! Things that grown-ups do!

I am getting excited about it. Sort of.
There is so much potential for a new start, ya know?
New work.
New friends.
New places to see and grow to love.

As my friend so aptly put it the other day: "All bets are off. This is a whole new life. You can do whatever you want!"


















Here's a little peek at the hideous, eye-sore of a place I'm moving to. I know. I know. It's a real train wreck.