beware of gator.

I vowed I would plant my heels in the ground and that he'd have to drag me all 700 miles from here to Melbourne, Florida. But, I must admit, I have gotten to where I am almost excited about our move. I'm dreading the hot summers, the lack of season changes, and the Florida Gators. I've really hated that I have to give up my job, work night shift, and start from scratch somewhere else. And I hate that Lindsey will not be there. What am I going to do at work without her? Starting over just stinks no matter what. I'm also going to really miss our lovely home. I mean, we've only lived here a little over nine months. The first thing I said when I found out Jameson was offered the job in regards to our house was "buuuuut I was looking so forward to making the room upstairs a baaaaaaby room one day" and burst into tears.

Yet everything seems to be falling into place. Jameson landed a great job with great benefits where his master's will be completely paid for. He also got a pretty hefty raise. I went down this last week and found a beautiful apartment on the lake. We will be 20 minutes from the nearest beach. I also got and accepted a great job offer at Florida Hospital for Children in their NICU. The manager was so wonderful that she even hugged me when I left. (And I thought I was leaving "the south!") And come on, we are an hour from Disney World and Universal Studios. Once I get over the house-job-Lindsey thing I think I will be ok. And Lindsey has promised me several visits even though I'm trying to recruit her permanently.

It all started after our cruise this last December. It's always a great thing to come back from being out of the country to voicemails from friends that 30% of your husband's company has been laid off while you were gone. When Jameson returned to his office that next week, he found out that he fortunately still had a job but his hours had been cut for the time being. So naturally, he began applying to anything below the Mason-Dixon line specifically targeting Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. It was shortly after this that Harris Corporation flew him down to interview and the rest is history.

So as of Friday I will officially be a Floridian. It feels weird. I would have loved to have stayed in Birmingham longer. I'm going to miss Children's Hospital, my house, Lindsey, Private Gallery, the Summit, Bluff Park Diner, Homewood, the official holiday of the Iron Bowl, Momma Goldberg's, and Brook Hills. I would have loved to have raised a family here, gotten season tickets to Auburn football games, docked a future boat at Lake Martin. Life doesn't always work the way you plan it. But sometimes it is better that way. Where is the excitement in staying in one place your whole life? We are just trusting God and leaning on each other at this point that we will be able to make friends and start a home together in Florida, just like the one we shared here in Birmingham.

Look out, Melbourne, here we come!