On the Move

For me the past year seems to have blown past in a flurry of busyness, trains, late nights, staring at computer screens and painfully brief glimpses of friends. Back in January I started a job, which meant I needed to be in London almost every week. It has been a massive change, a change where I can now look at myself and see I am standing two feet taller. I have learnt so much, adapted to situations and I can now take on far more than I ever imagined. At the same time a lot of other things have suffered and been impacted by such a big change. Friendships I had invested in have been put on hold or abandoned, commitments and good intentions at church have been left by the wayside and we’ve lost any notion of date nights and quality time as a couple. Whilst I’ve been commuting to London and back my husband has been quietly but purposely building a successful freelancing video career. I am so proud of what he has achieved and I feel as if we have both had a challenging year but are emerging from it, changed people.

When I took the job any discussions on our future were absent mindedly put on hold, almost like the coming years had become fogged over and any vision was fuzzy and unknown. New Years Eve 2011 I named this year the year of the new job. I couldn’t think of anything imaginative or foresee anything else to happen, the job seemed all consuming and it was for the first few months. But, in the summer as the evenings lengthened and my steps became lighter I began to have the strength to carry load that I had been struggling under for the past 6 months. We began to talk. We started dreaming and planning again and finally after a lot of talking, thinking, reflecting and praying we made a decision.

It’s time, it’s time for us to wish Lincoln a fond farewell, pack our bags and trundle on down to the big smoke.

For me it’s like Lincoln is a warm comfortable jumper that I have grown out of. It’s an awkward fit for my gangly arms and difficult to get comfy in. Although it holds a special place in our hearts I just don’t fit anymore. It sometimes feels like I am on a race track and I am taking the outside lane having to cover more ground and travel at a different speed. My friends and community are all on the inside lane but it’s really difficult for me to get into their lane to keep up with what they are doing so I have to whizz round and round the track again to try and keep up, I’ve never quite managed to catch up.

So, a new chapter and season is about to begin, there are unexplored opportunities for both of us in London and I feel that it is right for us to begin 2013 facing a whole new adventure. The best bit is we get to do it side by side, rather than living almost two different lives running parallel we get to bring them together again and face the big scary capital, for that I am excited.

I have had 5 years in Lincoln, I originally thought it would be just one. In those 5 years I’ve had 4 jobs, lived in 3 houses, bought one of them, got married and become an auntie three times. Lincoln and my community have been kind to me. I know as soon as I leave I will realize what I have lost but in the same sense I sometimes feel I have already lost it. Life is so different to what it was 12 months ago I cannot dare to begin to dream of what it will be like in another 12 months.

For friends and family in Lincoln reading this, I want to say Thank You. Thank you for the fun, the journey, to standing together over the past 5 years. Although soon we won’t be in the same place that doesn’t mean we won’t have another 5 years to come!

So roll on 2013 and our adventure to the capital, we just have to get there first.

Tags: lincoln, moving