One Year

 ...I drove out of Boise. I said goodbye to my home for the last 13 years. I said goodbye to many dear friends and I started the epic and drama filled drive across the US. I don't remember what I thought my life would be like a year into living in DC, all I knew was that I had to give this adventure 2 years. Things have been greater than I could have imagined and things have been harder then I ever thought they could be. I have grown in ways I didn't think I could and in ways that I thought I had grown I was shown I still have room to grow. 

I have blogged 83 posts about my adventures on the east coast. I have been able to see and experience things that I have only dreamed I would be able to do and see. This was a huge leap of faith and while I still miss Idaho oh so much and miss my friends, I am glad I did this. I don't know what the next year or two hold, but what I do know is that I am happy with where my life is right now and I am excited on the things that the next year holds. However, I am a little sad that I can't say that I am new to DC, but rather I have turned into a local. 

Brief recap of the last year: 

• August: Bumblebee broke down, Tuf graduated, first week in DC, drove across the US not once but twice!
• September: Many trips to IKEA, started a temp job in HR, experienced a lot of first in DC, walked the National Mall many times
• October: First visitors (Becky, Julie, Barb and Robyn), road trip to West Virginia
• November: More visitors (Marie, Jackson, Christina and Belinda), Thanksgiving 
• December: All things Christmas in DC, Maryland and Virginia 
• January: Unemployed for 1.5 weeks, Karen visited
• February: Finally employed as a regular employee, beginning of snow
• March: A lot of snow! visitors (Bonni, Troy, Barb and Paul)
• April: Sunrise service at Lincoln Memorial, road trip to Charlottesville with Barb and Paul, more visitors (Lisa, Susan and Katie), cherry blossom festival, passport DC
• May: Visitors (Stacy and Robert), road trip to Rehoboth, Delaware 
• June: 35th birthday
• July: 4th of July, move from Alexandria Virginia to Silver Spring, Maryland, christian concert 
• August: Tuf's birthday, Karen visits, another christian concert, play at the Kennedy Center, end of August going back to Boise for an entire week!!! 

My first year was busy, and I am thinking my second year is going to be just as busy! I hope that we can do some traveling outside of DC - I want to go to the Carolina's, Georgia, NYC, new England and more beaches! And of course now that we live in Maryland, we need to explore Maryland and there are still so many things in DC that has to offer. There are also more visitors that I get to show this lovely city too! 

Oh there have been struggles as well. This has been harder than I thought it could be. I have felt so alone at times and I honestly don't know how many times I have doubted myself, cried alone or with friends and simply just missed my life in Idaho. I still have those moments, I love Idaho and I love my friends, but I do love DC. I know that I will not be in this area for the rest of my time in DC that I will always cherish. 

I want to thank everyone that has supported, loved, prayed and cried with me over the last year. I can't begin to explain how wonderful it feels to know that I am loved. I would like to take this time to thank a few people. First, Tufie and Anthony, without the both of you, I wouldn't be here and being here with you guys is perfect, thank you for your support and sense of adventure. We have grown so close over the last year and I love you both. Barb, thank you for being you. You have religiously texted me everyday for a year and visited me twice. Your love and support means the world to me, thank you for being by my side. Karen, I am blessed that you are my friend. You are my confidant, you are my best friend, you have helped me financially and emotionally, how you care for me is unexplainable. You simply are amazing. Marie, ah, my best friend, I love our Skype time, I love that we are still priorities in each other lives. Stacy, my wonderful bestest friend, thank you for all the texts of support and love and even more I am excited that you soon will only be 4 hours away! Kathie, thank you for letting me be real and still loving me. Thank you for letting me feel comfortable enough to share all of myself with you and you still support me and help me understand why I have these feelings and thoughts. And then there are my new friends that have made living in DC so much fun, my dear friends Melissa, Martha, Gina and Monika - knowing I have you all out here is awesome! 

Now onto year 2 on the east coast!!!