perksofbeingmel

As our time in Washing is ending, I’m getting really excited to move to Kentucky, well technically we’re living in Clarksville, TN, but anyways, I’m really excited!  I’ve been excited and on board to move to a new state since I found out the option was arriving.  But as our move day is approaching, two weeks to be exact, I’m kind of going to miss Washington and the things I’ve learned and discovered here.  This is the first state I’ve been on my own in, and it’s on the other side of the country!  I been trying to imagine my life in another place since I was old enough to realize I was eventually supposed to move somewhere else.  And I got the luxury to spend my first out of state experience with the love of my life.  Washington has been good to me.  This was my getaway state, my newly wed state, my clean slate state.  Washington was the state that set me free.

Freedom, Transitioning, & Everything in Between:

While I absolutely love my family, I absolutely did not love living with my family anymore.  While I absolutely love Michigan…HA, gotcha, that’s a lie.  Though I did cry the day of my departure from Michigan, it was more sweet than bitter.  When my husband and I finally hit the road for Washington, everything was about to change.  Since I got engaged, I had a whole new vision for my life.  And that life began the day I got married to the love of my life, and then the day we left home.

And like I said, I became free.  I wasn’t at a job I absolutely hated, I wasn’t forced to see the wretched people I went to school with, and I wasn’t sheltered in my home anymore.  (Though I will admit it felt nice to be a little babied by my mom when she came to visit, I knew I couldn’t slip back into depending on her.)  I think I’ve always been mildly independent, but moving nearly 2,000 miles away with just myself and my husband, took me to a whole new level of independence.

Washington has given me a whole new perspective about the places and people around me.  And I look forward to moving state to state to learn more about the people of the world.  I never knew how different or just how strange another state could seem.  I’ve always known that things are different no matter where you go.  But a state that can actually make you different is interesting.

In Washington, I was lucky enough to be only 10 minutes (depending on the traffic) to the MALL.  Completely crazy is what that is, compared to Michigan anyway.  The rain here has it’s own kind of sass.  It’s not treacherous and you can’t be mad at it when you see it out the window, at least someone like me can’t be mad.  The rain is beautiful, honest and hey, at least it’s consistent.  Though most of the time the weather is gloomy and gray, the day the sun decided to peek from what seems like endless rain clouds, it’s absolutely a good day here.  The rain and this states gloom is almost like accepting the flaws in the person you love.  If you live in this state, you have to accept the flaw (if one should think of rain as a flaw) as a characteristic that makes it so much more appealing underneath it all.

Not to mention, I’m only an hour away from a landmark some only wish to set foot in, Seattle! (That last sentence should tell you how glamorous I view Seattle.)  Seattle is exactly how I’ve always pictured it.  I adore the view of the water, the crazy hills, the street performers, the traffic, the horn honking, the confusing as hell one way streets, the people walking up and down the streets, the cappuccino sipping people in every coffee shop window, the attractions, everything.  I could go on, and on.

The whole state is beautiful, and it includes beautiful people.

Moving to a new state and transitioning into a new life might seem like a scary task to some.  But 8 months ago I was ready to take on the challenge.  Actually, about over a year ago when I first got engaged and knew the plans to move, I was ready for the challenge.  This state has brought light to my eyes in more than one way.  As I mentioned before, I always knew I had an independent side in me, don’t we all?  My independence is put to the test everyday, especially being married to a man in the military.  Knowing I have to mentally prepare myself for a deployment, forces me to think in an independent mind state.  His first deployment, I was still at home with my family surrounding me.  But now that we’re married and moved away, I’ll be by myself, in an apartment or house, figuring out how to reach the next level of independence that will get me through the torturous months.  I got myself into a new routine, as does anyone who begins a new life.  Everyday I woke up knowing that this was my life, my new and independent life, and I could do with it what I pleased.  A whole new state was mine to explore!

This state has been the biggest adventure of my life so far.  I’ve learned a little more about myself and those who surround me as every day goes by.  And for that I am grateful.

Those of us who are lucky enough to spend our lives with someone we love, shouldn’t make life anything but fun and carefree.  Being married has opened my eyes to how extraordinary life can be, more importantly, how extraordinary life already is.  How lucky are we in the first place to even be alive?  And then part of a long awaited destiny strikes when it’s least expected, and suddenly I’m married to someone I’ve know since I was 3.  Being married is better than anything I’ve experienced.  It’s a whole new world you’re opened up to once you’re with someone you love.  At least for me, there’s absolutely nothing better in the world than an overnight with your best friend every night of the week.  Love is one of the last shocking acts left on earth.  A delightful shock most of the time, I hope.  Marriage is/means communicating, loving, caring, distracting, earth shattering, delightful, dreadful, and the best challenge once can face.  How powerful is it to know that two people can love and cherish one another day after day?  It’s beautiful.  And I love every second of my married life.

So I guess this state has been my adventure to what some call, “growing up.”  I don’t view it as growing up, I view it as self discovery.  In these next two weeks, I will give my farewell to Washington.  I will give my thanks to Washington and the people I’ve encountered in this state.  I will give my farewell to the beautiful rain and the beautiful gray sky.  I will get my last drink at Starbucks, see my last movie in the comfortable movie seats, take my last trip to this beautiful bookstore I’m currently sitting in, and I will be grateful to have ever been able to live in this state I’ve called home for 8 months.