“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

WE'RE HERE!!

(He loves it, I swear.)

I'm actually a little nervous about the wheels coming off and things getting miserable because so far I am REALLY liking Dallas. To be fair, I think I've arrived at a peak time, weather-wise. It has been mid-70's and sunny every day we've been here. That's definitely helped when it comes to falling in love with my location. Being within walking distance of restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shopping and CUPCAKES makes me really happy too. The ability to sit outside with this guy and get him a pupcake for dessert is too much fun. 

Kyle and I had such a blast road-tripping down here. We got to see a lot of the country and, most importantly, we were able to see lots of family in CP. All of our road trip photos are on Kyle's camera so sadly that means no one will ever see them again ever. Just picture Scranton, PA; Memphis; Little Rock and more of Dallas. 

I'll be in temporary housing until mid-May and I am really happy with my current place. 

The boys had no problem getting comfortable...

That being said, Kyle left this morning and I'm already missing him. So lucky to be much closer than we would have been if I were in Boston but it's still sad to see the time in our lives where we were able to see each other almost every day come to an end...or at least an extended pause. I'll miss that time so much but couldn't be more excited for this adventure in his life to finally begin. 

Based on our experience so far, I have no doubt we will make our limited time together count while we're here.

Tomorrow I'll be visiting a new church for Easter. I'm hoping I'll be as blessed as I was in Boston to find such an amazing community though I can't say I'm not a little nervous about the process. 

Weird anecdote-- I had lunch with my friend Shelly and her fiance Jason this evening and while we were eating outside and enjoying our $12 bottle of happy hour wine (SERIOUSLY!) a bird fell from the sky and dropped dead right next to our table. Luckily for me it was next to Shelly and Jason so I did not have to look at it while they had to not only endure the initial incident but then witness a passerby unknowingly step right on it. Needless to say, we decided to change tables. While Shelly walked to the new table and Jason and I began to follow, what did I spy but ANOTHER DEAD BIRD next to that table. Outside of the dying birds, Dallas has been an absolute delight. 

In closing, I leave you with this. I decided that it was worth $85 to get this license plate. On my list of Dallas goals (soon to come) I probably ought to include getting better with budgeting.

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”

Well here we are! I'm four days away from wrapping up this Boston adventure. Admittedly, outside of saying goodbye to a wonderful friend Saturday, this is the first day it's truly started to hit me that I'm leaving. I'm not sure who, but according to my "blogger stats" there are a few people still reading this thing so if you're not in the loop, I've taken a job in Dallas, TX starting April 1st. Kyle, Kipper and I will hit the road this Saturday.

I'm feeling quite a few emotions about this new adventure. I'm excited, no doubt. The opportunity to be two hours of driving from my favorite guy (excluding Kipper) instead of 4 hours of flying makes me really happy. Throughout this journey I've come to the somewhat terrifying realization that I see my future with him. I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to spend two years with Kyle while he was something of a "civilian." The memories we've made here are more than I ever expected. It's no secret that I hoped we'd be leaving this town the way we are- together. Still, I never could have imagined the ride we'd take. In the end, I feel blessed.

I'll be leaving Boston in the care of some truly special people. While emotions aren't necessarily my favorite thing, there are so many people I will be so sad to leave. I'd be lying if I said I weren't just hoping to get the heck out of here before I have to actually address too many feelings...

In my first post before I left I listed some hopes I had for this move:

1. Figure out how to get out of my own head all the time. 

• I'm not there, but I'm better! That being said, I don't think analysis is always a bad thing.

2. Be okay with being bored once in awhile.

• DEFINITELY.  Downtime is not the worst. 

3. Learn new things.

• Check! I've learned so much about Boston, myself, others, management, allocation, life, love, "parenting" and the list goes on...

4. Enjoy myself.

• Check. The ability to take in and savor a moment is such a wonderful thing to learn.

5. Find a church.

• I couldn't have imagined a better church with better people or a better message. I have grown so much in my faith and that is truly the greatest gift to come from this journey.

6. Read more.

• Yes! Best recommendations from my reading the last two years- More Than a Carpenter and The Time Traveler's Wife

7. Exercise...regularly.

• Had to save something for the Dallas list...right?

8. Choose to be positive.

• Better. I'm at a place where I can acknowledge when I'm being negative so I think that's something. 

9. Cook a little more and microwave a little less.

• Yes!! I've gotten pretty good with chicken breasts! And I'm not awful with a crock pot either...

10. Have patience.

• So much better than I once was but still plenty to learn.

I've grown a lot over the last two years. I've learned how to be independent and I've also learned that it's okay to be vulnerable. I've learned how to be brave and I've learned that everyone gets scared. I've learned that mistakes are a part of life and the worst thing you can do is refuse to learn from them. I've learned that family is forever and that sometimes friends really do become family. I've learned that sometimes alone time is a good thing but a dog makes it a whole lot better. I've learned that God truly has a plan for me and while trusting in that can sometimes be the hardest thing, it really is the best thing. Besides, it's looking good so far...

If you'll stay with me, I'll try to carry this thing into my next adventure!