10 years.... 6 weeks

Part 2

After spending most of the trip talking to my friend, trying to wrap my mind around what had just happened, (yes, I was talking and driving) I arrived home and then things went into overdrive.  What followed was strange, bizarre, sad, terrifying, scary, exciting, and surreal.  Here was something that I had wished for and dreamed of for as long as I can remember (well, except for the 6 months I wanted to be a nurse and then I realized what all that job entailed... ).  This was it.  I was going to teach first grade.  

I remember calling all of my family and friends and going through the story so many times I felt as if I could have written it on a poster board and just showed it where ever I went.

There were many tears as I packed up my room.  I had been in that room for 20 years.  The last time I had moved, I was 7 and my mom did all of the packing.  There were days when I was so overwhelmed with the decision, that I know I wasn't fully functioning.  There were lists made, crossed off, made again, refined, torn up, written again, cried on, and written one last time.

I have to be honest and say that I really don't remember much about those 6 weeks.  It is an emotional blur.

I do remember one weekend where my dad and I drove down, looked at apartments, houses, trailers, and didn't even step out of the car because he was NOT going to let his little girl live there.  It was a complete God thing when I walked into the office of the apartment complex.See, we were driving out of town on our way back home, drove by, and decided at the last minute to go in.  We were headed home and I was devastated to have not found something at this point. I was supposed to be moving in three weeks and didn't have a place to stay.  Well, they had several apartments available, but when I was shown one of the older apartments, I fell in love. It was perfect!  I talked to them, gave them all of my information, and then we left.  About four hours into the trip, my cell phone rang.  It was the manager of the apartment comples.  I was approved and could move in in three weeks!  We set the date, and I remember looking at my father (who was driving at this time) started to tell him what was said, and couldn't get it out.  I started crying.  Big, fat tears kept rolling down my cheeks and I could not stop.  It was real.  I was leaving everything I knew, my comfort, my family, my life, my friends, EVERYTHING, to teach.  Could I really do this?  I think I said that to my father, and he said something about how this was all working out too well for it not to of God, so yes, I could and would do it.  

I remember when I got back home, giving my mom the biggest hug and just holding on.  I know we were both crying (it had been happening A LOT!) but more than that, I knew how proud she was of me and that with my parents support, I could do this.

We had a going away party the weekend before and it was like my high school graduation all over again.  Family, friends, people who were major parts of my life all came to say good bye. I was overwhelmed by the support I was shown. I still have the cards that were given to me and used to read the words of encouragement and blessing when I needed a reminder of why I was here.

At this point, my room was almost all packed up, things gone through, thrown out, put in a keep pile, put in a box.  All my mementos from my childhood up to that point, looked over, talked about, cried over (I told you, it happened a lot...) and just remembered.  

We rented a U-Haul and I was as ready as I was ever going to be at that point. What followed was an adventure I will never forget!