Revisiting New Beginnings

It's strange how life changes between blog posts. Theoretically this would be amended by more frequent journaling but the nostalgia induced by flashing back (in this case) 9 months is to be embraced rather than avoided. My intent is always to blog more regularly but my "fill every moment" brand of lifestyle tends to leave little wiggle room for random exposition.

However, this is a moment of transition and I shall therefore carve out a sliver of time for collaborating with the thoughts inside my head.

Ready?

I've moved to Denver.

As I'm sure you've heard me gripe, fighting through frigid winters has never been my predilection. Trapping someone indoors who lives to exist in the open air is standard faire in the north but that makes it no more palatable to me.

My knee jerk response to an inquiry about my hobbies has always been to rattle off "hiking, biking and kayaking". But when you consider that the streets, rivers and trees up north are buried under a solid layer of ice and snow for the majority of the year, it quickly becomes clear that I needed a redirection of hobbies or locale.

Knowing that another season of cabin fever would result in more angst than the world needs, I sent carrier pigeons to the far corners of my world and was accepted for a Denver based internship before I'd even applied.

And so here I am!

Footloose and fancy free

On my own

Reaching into the unknown

No looking back

Only moving forward

Whittling myself a new life

For now.

Until the winds change.

Like Sand Through the Hourglass...

It's February 14th and I'm feeling nostalgic.

Facebook is littered with sappy Valentine's pics and rants about being single but, to me, it's just another day. A day for doing laundry and watching movies, a day of yoga and painting my nails. 

A day where I open timehop and see this...

...and I'm instantly transported back in my mind.

It shakes my grip on reality to realize that a year ago I was a nanny still and three sweet babies (mistakenly) called me "mama". I was potty training and carpooling and wiping snotty noses and running a household. 

A lot has changed and it's time to find my footing again.

And that begins by catching you up on my year.

I...

• moved North, into my grandparent's house (next door to my parents).
• began working for my Dad.
• traveled from one side of the country to the other, putting my feet in both oceans in less than a month.
• visited New York City for the first time.
• skiied in the Rocky Mountains.
• tried stand-up paddleboard yoga and slacklining.
• caught a Cardinals game in St. Louis.
• discovered roller derby and burlesque.
• went gluten free.
• skinny dipped.
• got my nose pierced.
• went to RockFest.
• acted as Maid of Honor in the wedding of one of my southern lovelies.
• moved out of my grandparents' house and into one I now share with four other people.
• started working at Barnes & Noble, only to have the store close four months later.
• took a little sister to the Renaissance Festival for the first time.
• found out that I'm going to become an aunt in April.
• taught myself to knit and crochet.
• rung in 2015 with some of my boys.
• resolved to go on a date this year.
• picked up a new second job at a sandwich shop.
• volunteered as a ski instructor for people with disabilities.
• grabbed a set of scissors and cut off all of my hair.

Saw Aerosmith live at RockFest 2014

A lot has happened in the past year and I can't shake the feeling that it's changed me so very much. I feel a constant shifting of my being as I go about life, a hesitant grasping for stability and direction.

The person I was a year ago is dead. And they've been replaced by a stranger.

It's a peculiar feeling.

Happy Valentine's Day.