After a year and a half of changes, life seems to be settling into place. Of course, within that, it has been quite a journey for my husband, Chris, and I. It all started when we made the move from Bloomington, Minnesota (an area where Chris and I had basically lived for our entire lives) to Orange County, California (the total unknown) in the summer of 2006. Chris’ new job at the John Wayne Air Traffic Control tower opened our lives to much change and excitement. We were blessed enough to have two amazing friends from college living in the OC who helped us in so many ways. I was lucky enough to find a dream teaching job, with the help of our great friend, Lisa. Things fell into place perfectly. Little did I know that moving across the country would mean beginning a whole new life. We had no family nearby. We had two friends in Orange County. Two. I know that millions of people move to unknown places each year, so I shouldn’t be having this great pity party…especially since Orange County is literally like living in paradise. But it was hard. Very hard. I had a number of break downs…mostly having to do with having to find a new dentist (Paul C. Becker DDS had been my dentist since I was 7), a new car mechanic (Johnny and Automotive Service Company knew my voice by heart and always took great care of me) and of course trying to find an Urgent Care that would take my welfare insurance (I like to call it that because California seems to only have two kinds of insurance: “great” and “we don’t really care about you”, my insurance falls into the later category). Along with that, I had no Jenelle to hang out with literally every single night that Chris was working and no Liz and Jake at work to keep life humorous and exciting. For those who know me well, I like to surround myself with things that are comfortable…my parents, family and good friends. At this point, I only had two of those things, my lovely husband who was in hardcore training at work and our two friends, Matt and Lisa. I spent many Friday and Saturday nights correcting papers and watching Lifetime movies. As the year went on, I realized how much like family the people at work were. Everyone was always taking care of one another. I started feeling a little more comfortable with my surroundings (I didn’t get lost and have to call my direction master, Matt, even half as much) and Chris was doing well at work. I found a new dentist (I will never go back there….I am still considering flying to Minnesota every 6 months to see Paul C. Becker, DDS.) and an Urgent Care that will take my insurance. I have even found a wonderful nail salon and a hairdresser named Marlene with whom Chris and I entrust with all of our hair needs. I spent last spring working out with my 21 year old cougar-chasing trainer Marcus. I worked my ass off to lose about 45 pounds! In May, Chris and I moved to the most amazing little place in Laguna Beach about 2 blocks from the ocean. Then, I basically spent the whole summer in Minnesota attending weddings, my 10 year reunion, and hanging out with amazing friends in Detroit Lakes. The summer fun along with a very stressful fall (I switched to teaching a grade level that is not at all a great fit for me) led to me gaining every single pound back. But, as I said earlier, things seem to falling more and more into place and we are finding our niche. I started attending a church in Laguna hoping to get to know others in the community. It worked. Chris and I met an amazing couple who live in our neighborhood. Although they are about 60 years old, they are bound and determined to get Chris and I involved in meeting the “young people” around our neighborhood and he and I have been nothing but appreciative. We also had new neighbors move in who are our age, so things seem to be looking up. Many of the families that I have met through school have been amazing in making Chris and I feel so welcome, they invite us over and make us feel like a part of the crowd. I have finally come to the realization that things will never be “how they were”. But, I have also realized that our family will always be our family and our best friends will always be our best friends no matter how far apart we are. Things are definitely looking brighter…especially since the sun is always shining over the majestic Pacific Ocean here in Laguna (except for today…they are predicting lots of rain leading to mudslides…I think I will hang out on my new “narcoleptic” couch and watch the movie Junebug that was recommended by my sister-in-law, Andrea, that just so happens to be on Lifetime).
But before I go, I do have some goals that I would like to achieve within the next year…I would love to take you on this journey with me (that being the reason the I have started this blog)…please let me know how you are, if you can relate and encourage the crap out of me…I need it.
1. Train for and complete a half marathon. (Mike Lundberg, a friend and one of the strongest people I know, is fighting Leukemia and so to honor his fight and to contribute to the cause, I am going to raise money and run a half marathon for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in San Diego on June 1st)
2. Become a youth group leader at my church (something I have always wanted to do)
3. Find the passion within me…
Thank you for taking this journey with me. Here’s to 2008!
