♥Home is Where the Heart Is♥

As I pack up the home that I have lived in for the last five years...I realize how much I have changed in those five years. Granted, I was 23 years old when I moved into this duplex but I am constantly amazed as I pack up my belongings how much I have grown in the last five years.

Example #1: The Ex-Boyfriend Box

I am not sure if I am the only person who does this...(I am sure hoping not) but I have a box full of mementos and pictures from previous relationships. I never look in it except when I move. I will add to it without taking a peek inside. This morning as I was clearing out my storage room, I found this box. It is funny to think how fresh some of those break-up pains were when I added to the collection of cards, photographs, and gifts but now they are just a stepping stone to what I hope is something more real and genuine. I am no longer bitter, angry, and betrayed but simply glad that I was able to move on and come one step closer to finding the person who will make me happy. I will pack and move this box...I am not sure why. I guess so when I have a daughter someday and she has her heartbroken I can show her that it will all be okay. That we move on, we grow, we change and that Eileen had it right when she said "Rejection is God's Protection!"

Example #2: My Purse Collection

As I dig through the many purses I have collected in five years I laugh to see how their purpose as slowly started to change. In the back of my closet I have a ton of these little tiny purses that were perfect for a night out on the town. The further forward I dig I slowly start to find that purses increase in size substantially. Now, I have a big purses that can hold all of the many things I need for work and life...including my lunch, phone, camera, garage door opener, wallet, checkbook, and a variety of other essentials. Perhaps my life has become more boring in the last five years but my purse collection seems to chronicle the change in my priorities in my day-to-day life.

Example #3: My Photographs

These have not changed. Yes, I might have added new and updated photos...but the people on my wall remain the same. My parents, sister, friends ... the people I had in my life five years ago are still the most important people in my life. In fact, I have added a new frame with one of my best friend Staci's photograph in it but the truth of the matter is that I have a small circle of people in my life who are my foundation. The people who have built me up to make me the teacher, friend and daughter that I am today; the people who have had to patch me up when my world has come crumbling down; and the people who continue to support me as I go through the remodeling process from time to time.

While moving is difficult, it can also be exciting. I look forward to the new opportunities that a new town and a new home allow me to experience.

Finally, I thought I would give my few but constant blog readers an update on the 2nd date:

IT WAS AWESOME!! He took me fishin', I reeled in the only bite of the day, and I had a great time. I will continue to keep you updated but I sure don't want to jinx it.... :)