Good news

November flew by in a whirlwind of evaluations and reports. Apparently, I've done 18 or so evaluations since arriving at my new job. I have a couple of really big, involved ones right now that are kinda weighing me down, but mostly I'm getting much faster, even cranking out some of the simpler ones in just a couple of hours. The job is not as mentally challenging as I thought it would be in terms of knowing what to do. I think what I'm learning in this job is more about how to do. For the first time, there's a person with 30 years of professional experience, 8 or so years of which she was running her own practice, who is both able and willing to impart her methods of doing the things that I find most difficult: knowing how and what to say to parents in difficult situations, knowing when and how to abandon an attempt to evaluate, all the sticky stuff. I have no idea how to express any of that for a resume later in life, but it means a great deal to me.

Even that is not the "good news" though. The news is that yesterday, the sale of my house in Belton closed! After two previous false-alarms, when a contract got written, negotiated, and then fell through because of the buyers' issues, this one finally worked. It sounds like the buyers are a little family, so hopefully they can make really good friends with my sweet neighbors, Rudy and Amy, next door. Or maybe they are already friends, and that's how they found out about the house. Anyway, I'm happy a little family will be there, and I hope they'll be very happy. I'm also enormously relieved that I don't owe a house payment anymore. It makes me wonder if I'll ever own a house again. Right now it's a financial burden I can't afford, and didn't have need of a house in Belton, certainly, but it's also the biggest asset I've ever had, so I wonder if that will ever occur again.
Seems unlikely at this point, but then I'd never have guessed most of what has happened, so I won't try to guess what will happen next. I wish you were here to celebrate with me tonight--I'm going to dinner with someone from work, and then we're going to Target! Weehee!

the long story

This has been perhaps the wildest, most tiring three weeks I can remember. Happily, I have not come through it alone. My dear friend, Kahlyne, hung in there with me for several long long days of packing and hefting. Then, my sweet cousin, Leslee, jumped in to the mess to lend some strong arms and laughs as usual. My actual departure was delayed, but finally did come off with everything in the car I was hoping to take. At the very last minute, my realtor called to say that a family would arrive in 10 minutes to see the house, and I was to let them in. I talked to them a little, they looked, and we all drove away from my house at the same time. I left behind me quite a mess, secure in the knowledge that my amazing friend, Holly, was sending in someone to clean the whole house. What a load off my mind, and what a job cut out for her!

Then the drive began. I first made only a short jaunt to Dallas and spent the night with my Aunt Linda and Uncle Tom. I took care of some errands like having the car checked, and I found a fantastic deal on luggage to replace the luggage I've been beating up for the past 11 years, since Gramma and Grampa gave it to me for high school graduation. Finally, there was nothing to do but face the very long trek toward Connecticut. We drove for two-and-a-half days, and had two nights on the road with the help of sweet Beth, making reservations for me at motels and providing directions along the way.

I drove into Manhattan for the first time of my life, scared to death. One night's rest and then drove into Connecticut, to meet the Adamses. Wayne and Louella are so sweet! They sat down and went over my Mapquest directions to work for the next morning, and kept me from following them, recommending "another way". The first lesson of Connecticut driving is the there is always "another way", usually "a back way". However, the second lesson is that signs are optional, and driving in Manhattan is a breeze compared to navigating New Canaan, Norwalk, and Greenwich, so I spent the first two days getting lost "another way" each time I tried to go to work or home from work. By the third day, I was really feeling afraid that I would never get it, but found myself NOT lost on the way to work, and not lost on the way home! VICTORY! Ever since the third day, things have really improved. I don't get lost anymore, and my brain now is able to take in Louella's many directions for "back ways". She's got more personality than one woman should have, and Wayne is the straight-man to her antics.

The Friday after I arrived, Louella invited the neighbors over for drinks and hor d'oerves, which I apparently cannot spell. The neighbors were all very nice and several of them offered that if I need anything this winter (which incidentally means until June, when W & L come back) I should call.

Amidst all this action, the people I let into the house as I was trying to leave did make an offer on the house. There's been some problem, and we're not under contract anymore, but as I understand it, they still want it. We'll see. No real progress yet.

Otherwise, there's work, which is going really well. Josephine is really taking me under her wing, and we've had some talks in these weeks already that are very important to my understanding the office. I think she's really happy about our rapport so far, and I definitely am. I turned in my first report this week, and her feedback was so positive, I did the dance of joy. The downside to all the greatness at work is really long days: I have to leave in the 8:00 hour and I usually get home about 7:00 p.m. Wayne and Louella and their golden retriever have been at home to keep Riley busy.

Today, they left. Today begins my real life here in the house. I have anxiety about Riley's long days at home, but I'm hoping he'll just sleep the whole day away. I spent most of today making my Aunt Kristy's vegetable soup and some pumpkin bread that didn't turn out quite right. At any rate, life is calming down, I've finally written a decent update for my loved ones all over, and I hope you're all well. Much love to you.