One year on

I realized as I touched down in Orlando last night and the pilot welcomed the locals (sort of me) home, I was doing the exact same thing almost exactly one year ago (December 19) when I returned home for good from England. That flight was a lot different. I am sure most neighboring passengers thought something was very wrong with me as I was crying on and off from the time I boarded in Brum to the time I touched down in Orlando. . . and then some. It was a really hard decision to come back to the United States. Although I still question it to this day, mostly because I loved my life and my friends there (and the easy access to travel elsewhere. . . .oh yeah and the Real Ales. . . ), I am very happy to be home. I am happy to be able to say this is home for me again, because I didn't feel like I had a home anywhere when I left for England in January 2005.




As the quote headlining my Strange Land Blog somewhat reflects, it sometimes takes stepping away, whether that be physically or metaphorically, to realize where your heart is at and what you want out of life. I have managed to settle in nicely back in Indy, better than I ever thought I would. I have some people to thank for that- some that have been friends for years, others that have been friends in the past but our relationship has seemed to evolved to something much stronger to the point I consider them family, and a couple others that have just come into my life this year but I consider a critical component to my life. These connections are especially important to me as I now have no family per se in the Midwest, but have great people I feel I can rely on for support when it is needed. I was lucky to have connections through some of those friendships that have led to a job I love perhaps more than any job I've had in the past and have settled into a home with it's quirks but character. As well as Nia, who also has her quirks but character ;-) and is a soothing comfort on lonely nights in a big house.




There are still a lot of things to be accomplished, some I won't be able to do on my own, but I feel good about this chapter and heading into the New Year very broke (new house, car, dog and all that) but happy and incredibly fortunate and grateful for the amazing experiences I have had so far in my life, the people that have influenced me, and the people that continue to do so.




Happy Christmas Everyone!