My Opinion

While waiting for a flight into BWI

Man: You flying to Baltimore?

Woman: Yes, you too?

Man: Yeah, I go all the time for business.

Woman: So, do you enjoy Baltimore downtown?

Man: Oh no. I hate Baltimore. It’s terrible. It’s ugly and you’ll get shot. I like Bowie and Laurel and anywhere outside Baltimore, but I hate Baltimore. So what do you do up there?

Woman: I lead the “Visit Baltimore” tourism board.

Me: Hello?

My Dad: Hey there ol’ buddy! What’s yer 20?

Me: Huh?

My Mom: So, how many truck stops have you showered at today?

Me: All of them.

My Dad: Thatta way, Smokey.

What are you going to do? Everything, is my guess. It will be a little messy, but embrace the mess. It will be complicated, but rejoice in the complications. It will not be anything like what you think it will be like, but surprises are good for you. And don’t be frightened: you can always change your mind. - Nora Ephron

Nine months ago I moved to DC. And while there were, admittedly, a few lows at first (things like excessive time in emergency rooms and passing out while driving), for the most part it’s been a pretty wonderful nine months. 

I’ve met cool celebs—like Jose Andres, Mario Batali, and Alain Ducasse (can you tell  where my interests lie?). I’ve made new friends and traveled to new places. I’ve found a charming little town I call my own and I’ve made a little home with two dogs and an old friend. I’ve found a lot that I love in DC. 

However, life is strange and unpredictable—something that happens to be one of the things I enjoy about it so much. And a series of events have made it so that when I was offered a job back in Charlotte last week, I knew immediately that taking it was the right choice for me. 

And so in twelve days I’ll be back in North Carolina. I never even got around to changing the plates on my car. Will I miss DC? Absolutely. I’ve fallen hard for this city and this part of the country. Luckily, I have friends and family who have settled here and if I’ve learned nothing else in the last few months, it’s that the trek between NC and DC is only a Sunday afternoon drive. Am I excited to return to Charlotte? Of course. It’s home. And there are opportunities there that I couldn’t have imagined a year ago.  

This is—obviously—not what I imagined. And, truth be told, I doubt the next year will be what I imagine… or the year after that… or the year after that. In fact, I hope they’re not.  Because I hope that life always feels like an adventure. It doesn’t always need to go at the hold-on-to-your-hat pace of this year, but I’d rather be overwhelmed than bored and I’d rather be nervous than complacent. 

And now, because I’m concerned that this entry is headed down a path where I’ll start quoting country song lyrics or something, I’ll finish by answering the question I’m sure is on everyone’s mind: Yes, I’ve told Pawley and Rosie. And yes, they’re thrilled to be headed back to Carolina.  

“And so now I type to you from Sarah’s bed. With her bossy-ass dog asleep under the covers like a little toaster strudel. Quiet as a lousy church mouse.  But I’m still wearing the ear plugs anyway. Why? Well because little dog also snores like an octogenarian. And because big dog is panting outside the bedroom door with such unabashed desperation that I can’t bear to listen to it.

By the time Sarah gets home, I will be wearing her clothes, slathering myself in her Bath & Body Works lotion, and leaving half-consumed Sprite Zero cans all over the house in a completely Single White Female effort to confuse her dogs into silent submission.”

-What’s that? You miss updates on completely insane canines? My roommate Jenn is offering amusing daily blog updates on life with Rosie and Pawley while I’m out of town (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4). She’s also offering some not-so-subtle hints regarding my Diet Sprite habit.