It's a Snow Day!

It's a veritable death storm of snow down here in the South! At least, you'd think so since it took Ryan TWO HOURS to get home from work last night, normally a half hour drive. Coming from Indiana where everyone's home is now an igloo, this genuinely cracks me up - not the part where Ryan is stuck in traffic because of ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY accidents in Greenville alone, but the part where his training session is cancelled for today because of the lightest sprinkling of snow. Granted, the roads had some ice and southern folk are apparently allergic to it, so immediately veer off into a ditch. Ok, not funny since some people actually did end up in one.

The snow is nice, though. It's a minuscule sampling of true Midwest snow, but it's snow nonetheless. As tonight marks exactly one month since I laid in my mom's bed, crying because early the next morning Ryan and I would drive 600 miles away from the only homeland I've known, the snow is a fun reminder of "home." The days often feel stagnant, but when I look over the last four weeks, I'm amazed how much has transpired...visiting half a dozen churches; trying an improv class and LOVING it; doing two weeks of Yoga and not loving it per se, but finding it a good diversion; auditioning for two shows; unpacking all our stuff and having our apartment actually look/feel like a home; finding a job with online tutoring; joining a gym; and not to mention all the smaller day-to-day chores like getting new drivers' licenses, figuring out where one curvy road intersects with another curvy road, etc.

While Ryan and I are still looking at churches, I have really enjoyed the few times we've gone to Seacoast and will be going with a friend to a women's conference near Charleston tomorrow and Friday. Normally, a "women's conference" wouldn't sound super exciting, but I'm really looking forward to it, especially when I found out that one of the speakers is from the Greenville Seacoast church.

So, a month into our big move and I haven't freaked out at all. Sure, there are moments of sadness, but never once has the thought "We shouldn't have done this" appeared. The gym we joined has already helped my moments of existential quandary where I lament, "Where is my purpose? What should I DO here?" Because if I get my butt to a morning fitness class where a ripped she-devil grunts at me to sweat more than I care to, it becomes so much easier to be productive the rest of the day.

The tutoring job will be a good 10-24 hours a week, but I really want to find my value outside of getting paid for something. Granted, I just like to work and contribute to something, but I never want to feel less of a person just because I have a lot of time. There's always, always, always something to do. For example, making cheesecake. Or making it to Malachi in the Old Testament (after only three years, I'm almost done!). Or going to the gym where they have free coffee, which tastes gross but it's FREE. Another plus with this wonderful gym is that they have INCLUDED CHILDCARE. I don't have kids, of course, but as a natural worrier, I'm already trying to foresee that crazy lifestyle and the knowledge that I can toss them at some licensed childcare workers and take a half hour shower seriously makes me more excited about being a mom.

Ew, weird. One day I'll be a MOM. I've made it to most of the other "earned" titles...girlfriend, wife, aunt, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, etc....but mom has to be the craziest one of all. While being a mom freaks me out, when I see these little toddlers running towards their parents with bobbing heads and outstretched arms, I WANT THAT. Suddenly, I even want the crying and whining and poopy butts and total lack of physical balance. Yeah, ok, I should be a mom.