New Life - Day 1

The actual, physical Day 1 has been brought around by a culmination of days all leading to this one very defining day.  It is the day I drive away from everything I know and everything and everyone I love to try something new.  Day 1 of not talking about making changes in my life and wanting to do something different, but making it happen.

Day 1 has been made a little less scary by those who've shared their stories of change and risk, chance and hope, faith and adventure.  They give comfort to those like me who have taken great measure to avoid such things in life for the sake of safety and security.  One realization from their experiences is that there is no failure in this opportunity - the only failure is in not trying at all.  The failure would be to never let myself take the chance and then always wonder "what if?"  I began to feel that "what if?" would become my scarlet letter and to end this life with that in my heart would be too much to bear.

So here I am - Day 1. 

The "good-byes" are always the hardest, especially when you're not experienced at them.  As expected, there were an ample amount of tears and hugs, each of which I will remember always.  I know I'm not moving to another planet, nor am I moving across the globe but things happen in life, unexpected things, and sometimes you don't get another chance.  How's that for morbidity?  Let me turn it to a lighter side and say that there were also many "see you later"s as well...one of the luxuries of moving to a city that doesn't suck is that people actually look forward to visiting.

We couldn't have asked for better driving weather - clear, sunny skies and spring-like temperatures.  My girls were calmly sitting in their travel crate, completely unaware of how long they were about to be trapped in there.  My bff, Sandra, seated next to me as my trusty navigator and instigator of this move.  Let me be fair to say that she is not the "cause" of this move, but has kindly left the door open for the past 15 years or so for me to make this happen on my own time. 

Our first day would take us to Lubbock where we would spend the night in good company with my friend, Amy.  The day went on pleasantly uneventful and the only two complaints would be the ever-gusty west Texas wind and some unpleasant odors along some of the farming and oil sections.

We made it to our destination and after some delicious vino, good conversation, and dinner we settled in for the night.  I slept well for a while, then woke from there my mind kept spinning and spinning with anxiety and anticipation.

The reality of the event has yet to sink in at this point.