La Vie Continue (La Vida Sigue).

I had lunch with this lovely lady yesterday (this picture wasn't taken yesterday....)

Me and Annie in Spain

I drove up to Towson, MD (about an hour and a half away) just to meet up for a quick lunch together.  "Why would I drive so far?," you may ask.

Well, for one thing, Annie lives almost an hour north of Towson, so it was practically half way, but the other reason is that my dear friend is taking an exciting leap into adulthood and moving to a new locale for a job!  And when I say "new locale," I don't mean she's moving a few hours away.

My brave little toaster is moving from the greater Baltimore area, all the way down to bright, sunny Florida.

I have to admire her for this.  I'm job hunting as well, and I'm determined to move into DC.  I won't even look at a job in Rockville, MD (40 minutes away), because it would be annoying to commute from DC, haha.

It's tempting for me to concentrate on thinking about how much I'm going to miss Annie, and how excited I was to be able to hang out with her in B-more and DC, but really, it's not about me at all.  She's the one making this big leap, she's the one that's heading out into the unknown, and she's the one that needs me to be excited about it for her!  Which I am!  I have no doubts that she's going to set up a great life for herself down there, no matter how long she plans to be there.

I'm very lucky to have a circle of friends who take advantage of life and aren't afraid to step out of their comfort zones.  I have a lot of friends who make decisions like moving to different cities, states or countries for work and school.  While it doesn't make big changes less unnerving, seeing the impact that it has on other people, and how they've matured and grown from it all certainly makes the decision a little easier.

Our experiences make up a large part of who we are, so shouldn't we endeavor to experience as much as we can?  We learn a little more about life and ourselves each time we put ourselves in a new situation.  I look forward to seeing what Annie learns and how she grows during her next step.  All experience is valuable.

I wish you good luck, Annie, as well as everyone that's taking a similar leap.