The Beginning of A New Adventure...

ad·ven·ture /æd'vεnt∫Ər/

1. An exciting or very unusual experience.

2. Participation in exciting undertakings or enterprises.

3. A bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome.

In November of 2009, I stuffed my most precious of belongings into Huckleberry (my trusty Honda CR-V) and headed East. Oh, I wish I could say West instead, because heading out West just sounds so much more romantic, so much more... adventurous. But I did that 5 years ago when leaving Indiana for the sizzling state of Arizona. But I digress... I headed East and 11 states later, reached North Carolina -- the place where I was about to begin a new adventure.

I've always loved adventure, and if you know anything about me at all, you know this already. Just the mere mention of the word gets me excited. Except sometimes adventure involves more than excitement and thrill... the fun of it all. Depending on how long your "adventure" may be, it sometimes requires hard work, perseverance, patience...lots of endurance...and the willingness to be in a state of the unknown. Sometimes for a great while.

The word adventure conjures images in my mind of the men and women who left everything and headed out west to pioneer new territory. Of the Pilgrims building themselves a new life, intent on making it a better one. Of Columbus braving uncharted waters in search of unseen lands. We tend to romanticize them -- oh, how exciting it must have been to set out on such adventures. And I'm sure it was for them in the beginning. But what about the raging seas, the fury of disease, the constant battles they fought just to stay alive.

Moving to a new place is certainly adventurous, but definitely requires determination. As I saw in Arizona, it took me years to finally settle in and make it my own. And now I am on a new adventure. In search of better health, better finances, and the happiness of having family near, I chose to relocate to North Carolina and completely uproot the life I'd previously built for myself.

So I've moved here and I have no idea what is going to happen next. No idea where I'll work, or how I'll pay my bills. I have no idea when or where I'll make new friends. A move is exciting at first, but inevitably difficult and filled with unknowns. This blog is about chronicling this adventure. And the process of change as it unfolds...