When Brad and I decided to give things a go back in 2006, part of that decision involved me leaving NYC and moving down to DC where Brad had been living for a year. I LOVE New York. I really do. And DC seemed to represent everything I didn't want in a city: arrogance, politics, inauthentic people. Funny how life has a way of proving you wrong just when you absolutely think you're right.
DC (technially, Virginia) has become as much home to me as Wichita felt when I left for college. I love everything about this city: the culture, the energy, the intelligence, the diversity, the arts that seem to seamlessly mix into a city consumed with goings on of world leaders and politicians. We found a neighborhood that I always thought we'd raise our kids in, where we're recognized in restaurants and stores. Where I almost always end up running into someone I know. Where I have friends who have become family. Somehow, a city that seemed so awful, that I was determined not to like, has become home.
It's been almost 7 years since I moved from NYC to DC, and it continues to be one of the decisions I'm most proud of making. I took a risk to join the man I love in a city where I knew a handful of people, and at the time, none of them very well. I found a job in an industry I love and found a way to branch out on my own. I was able to reengage in theater, and found a support system, friends, and a family that I will treasure my entire life. In a way, I feel like DC helped me grow up - reflecting on it, it helped me come into my own.
And now, it's time to say good-bye. I will again take a risk (albeit not as large of one) to join the man I love in a city where I know a handful of people, and as of now, only a couple of them well. I'm going with no job, but this time armed with the knowledge that I've done this all before, and that I'll be okay. I will attempt to find my place in a city that, as terrible as this is to admit, I'm again pretty sure I won't like. And most importantly, I'm going knowing that our ultimate goal is to come back home.
There have been lots of tears over the past few days, and I'm sure throughout the course of the next week as I begin my drive across the country, there will be many, many more. But with dog as my co-pilot, we're headed to Phoenix (technically, Scottsdale), and our little family will finally be back together after a full year apart.
Not sure how else to get of all the feelings or share and record the new experiences, I will blog. From the East Coast to the Desert...here I go.
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