Northern Migration, Part 2

When I woke up the morning of December 22, 2010, the world came closing in on me. I was leaving Springfield, my home for the past 11 years, all my friends and family, and moving 500 miles north to a place where I didn’t know anyone or anything…alone. I thought I had to be insane to do this. How was I to find an apartment in 10 days? Most of my furniture I could handle on my own, but the bigger stuff…how was I going to move it from the truck into my new place? How was I going to move that far away? U-Haul? Hire a moving company? How was I going to afford this move? All the details of the move overwhelmed and suffocated me.

Waves of glorious excitement and crippling fear crashed over me for the next 12 days. I couldn’t envision what my life would look like past January 2, the day I would drive north and begin my new life in Austin as college faculty. While I was being given the opportunity I had hoped for, my future appeared as a black void in my head.

I celebrated Christmas with my family. I was barely able to talk about my new career move and upcoming relocation. Thinking about the move to Austin made me cry. While I knew the career move was the right thing to do, I was terrified by all the other changes that came with it. I was given the chance to wash my life clean in the Minnesota snow, reinvent myself, and pursue the career of my dreams, but I was frozen in fear.

I wasn’t really moving to Austin alone, even if it felt like I was. I was surrounded by people who loved and supported me the whole way. I had time over the holiday break to catch up with two old friends, Scott and Lara, back home who let me unload some of my concerns and get my head together. My family was excited about my new job and offered support in any way they could. My friends, Susan and Jessica, came to my house a couple of days after Christmas to help me pack boxes and decide what would go with me in the car and what would be loaded into the U-Pack truck to arrive in Austin about a week after I did. Co-workers celebrated my move and bid me farewell at my favorite bar, The Mudd Lounge. More friends came over and helped me load the truck on December 31. My friend, Heather, connected me with a church group in Austin that could help me unload my stuff from the truck when it arrived. Tammy listened to me as I cried and swept the empty living room of the 2-bedroom bungalow that had been my safe haven for the past year. I even managed to find an apartment in Austin and arranged to sign the lease when I rolled into town.

In The Alchemist, it says, “…when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”  All the pieces that fell together in those 12 days are evidence that this statement is true.

On January 2, I woke to a young year and a fresh start. I wrote in my journal that morning:

“Goodbye, Missouri.

For 30 years I have called you home. Now I leave for a new home and a new life. Thank you for the walks, time on the river, and beautiful places I’ve lived.

Dear Minnesota,

Please be kind to me and let me get some good winter gear before you baptize me in snow.”

 

 

I headed north that morning with my car full of plants, clothes, and a few other items to get me by until the rest of my stuff arrived. I was a mix of sadness and excitement as I headed up Highway 13 and eventually I-35. I pulled over twice in Iowa to cry. Everything looked so new, so fresh. Life was new and unknown…and full of potential.

 

This is part 2 of a 3-part blog.

If you missed Part 1, click here to read it.  If you are ready to read part 3, click here.