In Washington, sunny days are rare. I appreciate them more.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a chance to write anything. April 2nd was my last day working in Victorville, and on April 3rd the movers showed up to load up my house and get the Penske ready to drive up to the Northwest. I admit, the last couple of days were really hard for me. I second-guessed my decision to leave my beautiful house, my family, and my friends. I felt that there was a possibility that I was completely crazy.

Easter Sunday, we woke up incredibly early to get on the road. We drove for hours, finally stopping in Redding CA because I5 North was closed due to snow and accidents. This happened only AFTER we had heard a weather advisory that we could only go through the Siskyou mountain range if we had chains and purchased such chains for both the Penske and the Focus. As I walked out of Kragen with the chains in hand, the weather report was updated to advise that the freeway was closed and there would be no getting through.
Damn non refundable chains.

We made it to Marysville the following night. Paul and his dad were miserably sore from sitting in the Penske all that time. I was tired after not getting much sleep the past week. We dropped the kitties off at the new townhome and got rooms at the Medallion Hotel across the freeway for the night.

My first impression of the townhome was that it was cute, for an apartment, and a hell of a lot smaller than the space Paul and I are used to. I instantly missed my house and even now get a little misty eyed when I think of how pretty it was. I wish we could’ve sold our house. I wish we could buy a house up here. But I really don’t think about that much. There are good things about the new place. It’s bright and has a lot of big windows. The bathtubs are not that deep, but they are long and I can stretch out and get nice and warm in bubble baths.
Once we got the furniture into the new townhome the following day, it began feeling more like home. Our couch, love seat, and reclining chair all fit in the living room, which we hadn’t expected. The place doesn’t feel nearly as cramped as I had worried.

The first night in the new house, I woke up feeling extremely sick and had to crawl to the bathroom to throw up. I spent some time on the bathroom floor, then finally felt I was done being sick and crept back to bed. I shook Paul awake so he could bring me some water.
I spent the next day in bed, too achy to move around much. My stomach didn’t feel all that queasy, but I was in terrible pain and couldn’t relieve it. I ran myself a hot bath and sat in the tub, head resting on the wall of the shower, silently willing the ache away.

It took a few days for me to truly feel better. I was beginning to get cranky, having been cooped up in the house, mostly by myself. On Saturday morning I dragged myself to the DOL (Department of Licensing) to get my driver’s license switched over to Washington state. Not only would they not accept my lease as proof of Washington residency (which I find to be ridiculous, by the way). I have to go back to DOL once I have a phone bill to prove I live in Washington (apparently, phone bills mean you live somewhere, leases do not).

Monday I started work in the Everett CSSC. I was nervous about going. What if I didn’t fit in? What if they didn’t really have my transfer information after all, and there was a mistake and I have to go back to California (yes, this one is extreme)? But none of that happened. My new coworkers turned out to be nice and welcoming. None of my login id’s worked, so I was offline doing odd jobs.

Today, I was actually online taking calls. The whole day was just great. The sun was shining, which I love in Washington because it doesn’t happen very often and feels special. The weather was warm, a new friend introduced me to a great teriyaki place for lunch, and I did not have a single call that made me feel anxious or stressed. When I got home, Paul and I decided to grab dinner at Wendy’s and explore.

We ended up at Kayak Point, a beach access area near our house that sits on Puget Sound. It was incredibly beautiful and I loved it. I love this beautiful place I’m living in. I am glad we came here, I am glad that we took this risk even though for a little while there I was scared and didn’t know if this would be the best thing to do.

I am happy here.