1,200 Miles and a Leap of Faith Later

I can hardly believe, but it's been three weeks since the last toll was paid, and we drove across the Hudson River while Albany's city lights twinkled and reflected off of the water. It was a strange moment, realizing that I was in New York and I didn't have a plane ticket home. For a split second I wanted to panic and turn right back around ... but somehow I knew that I could actually do this ... that I wanted to do this.

That first week found me in awe of the adventure I was on: "I can't believe I get to do this!!" That quickly went to "What have I done?!" as I navigated the start of a new job and tried to organize my tiny little apartment. I was dependent on a charged cell-phone battery as I attempted to navigate the Hudson Valley and the dozens of different routes that had me in mental circles 89% of the time. In that week, I could hardly bring myself to unpack since it made it all so real. But the third week? That was the week that found me saying, "I can't believe I get paid to do this!" at work. It was the week that I turned the crockpot on and lit candles in the living room. It was the week that I turned off the GPS because I knew where I was going. That was the week that found me nestled amidst a tiny little parish community gathered to celebrate the start of Advent while the rain pattered against the stained glass windows: the candle-lit church, the peacefulness of knowing that I was right there, in that moment, because I said to following His will ... that was all I needed to know that this was a leap of faith I had needed to take. So as the fourth week begins, I'm back to being in awe of what I am discovering behind this 'bend in the road!'

Notes about traveling halfway across the country: Chicago truck-drivers are possessed, looking up random facts about the states you are passing through gives you great trivia information, Indiana has cornfields--Notre Dame--and more cornfields, don't get a flat tire in Pennsylvania since there are no exits off of the interstate for miiiiiiiles, and I swear New York drivers will run you over if you are going too slow in the left lane. Also, about 2/3 of your plants will actually survive the trek!