Is This Real Life?

For some time now, I've been thinking about writing a post on being a boomerang child (you know, a child that went off to college and graduate school, and then came back to live at home with her parents). Maybe part of why I kept putting it off was the uncertainty of my future. While I enjoyed being back home, I was ready to move on, but not sure how to do so. This is a tough time to look for teaching jobs, especially in Pennsylvania. Today, I'm happy to announce that I finally have a plan! While I love my hometown, I'm excited to be moving away and living in a new place.

This past year was full of choices (actually, potential choices that I stressed out about). I loved my school district and coworkers, but the district isn't hiring for the jobs I want. Meanwhile, my boyfriend and I were getting tired of being in a long distance relationship, and looking for ways to close the gap. I felt I had to choose between being financially responsible and taking jobs in Pennsylvania that weren't my favorite but provided steady income, and being happy by moving to my boyfriend's city and continuing a scary job hunt. I asked my coworkers to all move with me so that I could keep them as coworkers and see my boyfriend, but something about having jobs, spouses and kids made them say no. Hmph.

I finally decided that I should take advantage of being a young adult with nothing holding me in one place, and move! Last week, my boyfriend and I signed a lease for an apartment in Arlington, VA. It's near the metro, so he can get to work easily, and the area has a lot of public and private schools (please hire me!). We're excited because our landlord is renovating our apartment for the first time in 20 years (it still had the original bathtub and tile from the 1940s!), so it will be new and squeaky clean! I've been busy exploring the area on Google maps, looking for restaurants, yarn stores, and places to run. I'm nervous about finding a job, but I'm really excited to be in a new place!  A lot of my friends from high school and college are in the area, and I'm looking forward to catching up with them.

I'm also very close to finishing my Rocky Coast Cardigan! Look for pictures soon.