Outside My Southern Comfort Zone: North Carolina

Most of you are aware that I am back in North Carolina for a few weeks but, there may be a few of you who didn't know that. I'll explain...

I have a contract with the state of North Carolina that requires me to work as a physical therapist in the state for two years. It will be exactly two years on January 19th. So, when Mike and I were in the planning stages of our move, we decided that moving over my Christmas break from work would allow us to start fresh in our new home at the start of the new year. That was very appealing. It gave us a fresh start in 2013 and allowed Mike to get settled before starting his new job.

So, that's what we decided to do and I'm glad we did. But, it meant that I had to fly home to finish up a few weeks of work. Initially, I was looking forward to coming home. I thought it would be a return to normalcy. I was excited to get back to work and to tell all my friends and family, in person, how great our trip across the country was. And that part of it HAS been great... but returning to NC was definitely NOT a return to normalcy. My "normal" life is now 3,000 miles away. For 2 weeks I am borrowing my parents car for work and I'm crashing at friend's houses during the week. I love my friends, and spending some extra time with my family, but coming home was definitely more challenging than I thought it would be. There is just so much to be excited for in Tahoe... new house... new places to see... new things to do... new lifestyle... etc. It was hard to leave all that excitement behind.

It's also kind of strange being back. For one thing, I left 20 degree temps in Tahoe and I was greeted by 75 degree temps here... in January? Of course, it was in the 70's a few days... and now it's in the 40's. Thanks for welcoming me back with your CRAZY weather, North Carolina. Another strange thing, has been saying good-byes AGAIN at work. I feel like I told everyone good-bye before we left for Christmas break (since I was taking an extended Christmas vacation)... and now I'm home... but I'm leaving again. It's weird. It feels like I've said good-bye to some people at least 10 times already, but I haven't left yet. And the STRANGEST thing about being back, has been driving by our house but not being able to go in. We are renting our townhouse and there are currently tenants living in it. Last night I actually had to go over there to pick up a couple of things that we accidentally left behind, and to get a few pieces of our mail. I actually had to knock on our front door and someone else let me in. Such a strange feeling. It was actually nice to see it all decorated with their things. It looked really nice and I think it provided some closure. It's still our house (according to the bank), but it's someone else's home now.

So, currently I have 1 more week of work to finish before flying west. I can't really process my emotions at this point. I'm torn between my excitement for returning to my new life in Tahoe and my sadness for leaving my closest friends and family in North Carolina. I want everyone reading this blog to know that I am grateful for these feelings; the fact that I feel sad about leaving is because you all have been so wonderful. And one thing is for sure: new friends can't replace the old ones!

Now that you are all updated on where we are now...

Here's a look back in pictures... some from the road trip... some from our first arrival at our new house... scenic views during walks with the dog... etc. Enjoy!