“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!