I’ve been meaning to blog for awhile now, but the last month has left me feeling utterly exhausted at the end of each day.  On top of being tired, I feel like there is so much on my mind that I don’t even know how to organize all I am thinking and feeling.  So, for those of you who read and would like an update, please accept my  bullet point update on life below:

• Leaving Portland was of course a very bittersweet feeling.  I was so sad to leave people I love, but at the same time it really felt like the right thing.  Packing up a 2000 square foot home was certainly a ton of work, and the morning we drove away I was so thrilled to just be done with packing and cleaning!
• At the time that we were packing and getting ready to go a friend of ours, who we just think is so wonderful, began his round 2 fight with cancer.  Round 2 was not supposed to happen – well, I mean round 1 wasn’t supposed to either…but you figure someone fights cancer with everything they have and they should not have to deal with it again. And yet, he is in the midst of a huge fight once again.  It is so hard to watch a family alter their entire world to take on this kind of fight.  And, it is even harder to do it from a distance – feeling like you can’t do any practical things to help.
• We arrived in Santa Cruz to a house that looked nothing like the house we had worked on one month prior.  My dad and my brother and my mom worked so hard to get our house ready for us.  It needed a lot of work as the last tenants left it in pretty awful condition.  But, we arrived to a home with all new floors and paint and some other really exciting changes that we love.  My dad worked his ass off for us and we are so grateful.
• Having my parents living next door has been awesome.  I mean, this could easily go either way…really wonderful to have the help, or really obnoxious that they are so close.  So far it’s been great to have my mom’s help and it has allowed Jim and I to jump back into work and to get unpacked quickly!  I am so so thankful for my mom and dad.
• I don’t know how to describe what I feel about being in Santa Cruz. I never really thought I would move back here…and even before moving I was a little nervous.  But, I love it.  I can’t really identify what it is I love so much just yet, but overall it just feels really right to me.  Like this is exactly where our family needs to be.
• We moved into a house a little less than half the size of our last home and I love it.  Sure, it’s tight with all our stuff in here, but it feels so great.  I like one bathroom and the funky kitchen and having everything we need so close together.
• I started work pretty quickly after moving and that has been good, but also hard.  I am the kind of person who likes working, but at moments I really miss the summer and being able to be with the girls all day. Part of that also is that my job doesn’t necessarily have a set schedule so things pop up last minute that I have to take care of.  It also means I sometimes work at weird hours.  And, since I am new to this position there is a lot I have to do just to get organized and prepared for the spur of the moment things that happen.  I have had to jump into work while still unpacking and trying to get life in a new town figured out.

I realize this post isn’t too exciting…and I apologize.  But this is what my life has been for the past month.  There are deeper feelings and thoughts tied into each of these bullet points, but I feel so tired that even expressing those deeper things has been hard.  I know I’ll get back into some type of routine (hopefully soon -  I love routines and plans!!!) and hopefully then I’ll take more time to blog.  Until then, thanks for checking in with me!