Back in Georgetown. I'll be housesitting for about three weeks while we wait for our RV to be finished. I'm kind of excited because Brian hates painting, and I miss having home improvement projects, so I get to paint the master suite. It makes me feel useful. And it gets rid of the sad white walls.
The drive wasn't half bad (for me), it was even nice to be back behind the wheel for a little while, and once I got my iPod hooked up (kept forgetting to do it while I was stopped) I was bebopping my way down 290. No traffic snarls = smiley happy Kristy. Gracie gets all bent out of shape and nervous just before a trip, so she had some poo issues that required her to stay in her cage for the duration of the trip... suffice it to say that Mike didn't have as nice a drive as I did (says the queen of understatements). Not that he had all the fun... I did have to deal with a portion of it that I'd just as soon forget. Thank goodness cats are self-cleaning.
Mike seems to be making a lot of good contacts lately. He's always been good at networking, but this line of work seems to be overflowing with people who can give you a job lead. I think that's great, and we both hope there are opportunities for quick advancement. We're hoping to get more information about all of the possibilities so that we can make the best choice for us. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll have a plan.
Speaking of which... this whole rant is not directed at anyone in particular, it's just that after this weekend I need to vent, because I have a swarm of thoughts in my head.
It seems like everyone questions why we want to be in Tennessee and tries to offer us options that will keep us in Texas. I don't know how to explain it to them when they ask. If what I say doesn't make sense... if what I say doesn't sink in, I feel like there's no way to make them understand. The most basic answer I can give is that it's what we want. We researched it, we visited, we made a decision, we got excited. Just because the land we bought didn't work out doesn't mean we've given up, it just means we didn't know what our needs were yet and jumped the gun on that particular plot. Given all the obstacles we've had, and how hard we continue to fight, it should be obvious by now that this is our path and we're not going to waver.
I'm tired of feeling guilty for wanting to live my life and advance toward a future that we are both excited about, I'm tired of having to tell people we're not interested in a house in the suburbs, or a house in the hill country, or that if Mike doesn't like working in an office and tower climbing was his idea, and if we are in one place for a while I will find a job, or if I have to do it to pay the bills I will find a job, but I'm supposed to be taking some time off and relaxing for a little while, work was supposed to be an option for me, and if we move around a lot, the idea was that I travel. In the future, when we have the RV back, I hope to find temporary jobs in the parks we stay at, but traveling isn't conducive to most jobs, even the ones that allow you to telecommute.
Coming home for a visit was actually a difficult thing because I no longer like being there. Perfect example - bumper to bumper traffic at three o'clock in the afternoon... it drove me nuts. Everywhere we went there were crowds. I hated it before we left, I hate it even more that we've been separated from it for a while. It was great to see friends and family, I enjoyed eating familiar foods, we got a few things accomplished along the way... it's not that it wasn't fun, it was just rushed. I felt pulled in a million directions and I'm not sure anyone was happy. I also wonder if we will always be expected to come to Houston if we want to see our friends and family, or if how many of them will be willing to meet us somewhere else? Not necessarily TN, but wherever we may be. Like a vacation.
I'm looking forward to settling into one place for a few weeks after all the traveling we've done in the last month. But don't misunderstand... In the RV I don't mind moving around. I don't particularly like packing it in, but you get used to it. The thing about life without the RV is that we live out of suitcases and we live in someone else's space - which is exactly what we wanted to avoid. So for a few weeks I don't have to do that. And I have a little time to myself where I don't have any plans. I can do things at my leisure. But I want our home back. With our stuff. With our space.
I guess I'm just ready to have our life back. And I'm ready to move forward. I've had a lot of fun, but it's also been stressful and I'm ready for the stress to end and the relaxation to actually begin.
