Week One... Home Again, Home Again

I keep beginning each new post with an apology about how long it has been since the last one, but I've realized that this blog is mostly for me and I actually haven't had anyone clamoring for more ramblings about my life. It seems narcissistic and silly, then, to imagine that I need to apologize for silence I don't even know anyone has noticed. I don't even know how many people actually read my posts, or if they make it to the end of each one. For all I know, you family and close friends that make the effort to read this stuff do so out of love and a sense of obligation, and therefore are relieved that I don't post novels every day. So I'm not apologizing. I've been busy the past month, and now I have time to write. That's all. :P

The day Alex left...

Alex has been gone for 8 days, which sounds like SO long compared to the fact that it feels more like 3. In a total of about 4 days, I said goodbye to my husband and then single-handedly sorted and packed up our lives, arranging for almost everything to be stored, donated, or thrown out. I've wrapped up all the little details of moving, from selecting and directing the movers to move our stuff, cleaning, cancelling all our utilities, finishing our last minute shopping things, keeping track of ten different lists of where different items are going and how they should be packed and in what order and where to make sure nothing I need ends up in storage, everything Alex forgot gets sent to him, and everything that needs to be packed away stays safe and fits where it needs to go. I pulled everything off almost without a hitch, and I feel like Wonder Woman. I think I deserve a title or a certification or something at this point, because I've mastered the art of car/truck/storage unit packing. Liz Richmond,  Master-Packer. :P But in all seriousness, I'm so proud of myself for handling everything and it all going so smoothly.

4 days after we said goodbye.

The best part of the whole week, though, has been with all the insanity of juggling all the moving, I haven't had time to miss Alex. I mean, I do miss him, obviously. I keep wishing he were here, especially at night when I have to go to sleep alone. But the crushing, empty, lonely feeling I'm used to, the one I've been fighting off and dreading for over a month now, hasn't descended. I have had, and still have, so much to keep me busy that I literally haven't had the time to sit down and really realize that he's gone. I'm sure it will hit me eventually, but for right now, I'm just fine pushing hard to get to the next thing on my to-do list. I'll take crazy busy over completely catatonic any day of the week.

 In fact, I'm enjoying the rush so much that I've set up an interview tomorrow to take on a second job. My Bath and Body Works position transferred to a local store, and I'm scheduled to start on the 1st of April. But I happened to eat at a really nice little Italian place called Porto Bello right around the corner from my house, and they're hiring a new person to help on weekends part time. So I'm going for it. I can probably make a lot more money in tips than I'm making at BBW, and since that's part time anyway, there's no reason I can't do both. And Alex and I have budgeted for me to be able to not work at all if I want, so there's no harm in trying to see where it goes... if it doesn't work out, that's ok. But being busy and making more money to save for our future seems like a win-win to me. :D

New hair!

There are a few other great things going on to help keep my spirits up. I found out just before I left that I have lost 10 POUNDS since the holidays! I got my hair cut today in anticipation of my interview and a new driver's license. It's shorter than I've had my hair in a really long time, but I LOVE it. It's prefect for a new job, a new me, and a good start to what I know will be one of the hardest six months of our marriage. Between the weight loss, the new look, and my forward momentum of my successful transition, I feel like I'm doing really, really well. I feel in control, confidant, and happy, which is the opposite of what I feared. Overall I'd say the whole week has been an amazing start.