A Suitcase and a Job.

It's been a crazy month...my apologies for neglecting Carpe amorem.

I watched a few of my best friends graduate from TTU and bid farewell to my wonderful community in Cookeville as it was.

I resigned as a tutor for Migrant Education in Tennessee, a bittersweet feeling. It was heartbreaking to say good-bye to those kids. I'll never forget how excited they were to see me every week and how sad they were when I told them I wouldn't be coming back.

I received a phone call for a second interview at a neat little coffee shop called Rembrandt's in the Bluffview Art District in Chattanooga and was asked to come for orientation the next day. I started working the day after that...with only one suitcase of clothing. So, I moved to Chattanooga with one suitcase and a job.

Four days later, I headed to Edisto Beach, S.C. for family vacation. A peaceful little beach town catered to families and those in search of a few days of experiencing life a little slower than usual, it was definitely soothing to my soul and a much needed reprieve from the hectic life I've been leading.

We also went to Charleston, S.C. for a couple of days to do some sightseeing. Such a beautiful coastal city!

I love the plantation homes and history that the South has to offer, and I love being Southern.

:-)

It's been craziness. I don't think I've ever been pulled in so many directions with so many things to think about and so many details needing my attention. I think the craziest part, though, is that I'm okay with it. For those of you who know me best, you know that I'm prone to brief, freak-out moments whenever change starts coming...well, things are changing, and I'm not freaking.

I feel strangely at peace with everything going down in my life right now.

I'm officially living in Chattanooga.

I have a job, and my suitcase is unpacked...plus a few more.

Life is good.

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. I love Snow Cones. The ice cream truck traveling around Edisto Beach sold these. :-)

Empty Bookshelves.

As I sit in the room I've been living in for almost two years and look at the near empty bookshelves, the inevitable winds of change seem to be ever blowing. It's the end of an era, and I'm surprised to say that it's bittersweet. For a year and a half, I've done nothing but complain about how I wanted to leave Cookeville and start my life. It's funny how things are put into perspective when the thing you wanted most is actually happening.

That's right...I'm moving. Not too far, but far enough that Cookeville and Tennessee Tech will no longer be right outside my front door. No more late night trips to IHOP or Big O's Donuts. No more chimes from the bell tower at Derryberry Hall. I won't be within walking distance of all my best friends, and the amazing community I've become a part of over the past 5 years will no longer exist as I know it.

You'd think that as many times as I've moved, and as much change I've dealt with in life, I would be used to this by now. But...as I say goodbye to friends (old and new), drive all the backroads just because I know where they are, and hit every pothole on Dixie Avenue, I'm beginning to realize how much I'm going to miss this place. I never thought I would say that. Cookeville, you've been good to me. I know I hate on you a lot, but it's been a pretty awesome 5 years.

I know I can't stay, and I don't want to. It's time to be moving on; time to start the long-awaited next chapter in my life. I'm excited, scared, relieved, optimistic, and slightly melancholy.

Here's a picture of my new home:

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Isn't she pretty? I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing there, yet, or for how long I'll be there, but I'm moving in with a great gal, and I'm so eager to see what's going to happen next!

God is good. Sometimes, I have absolutely no clue what He's doing, but He always knows, so I'm just going to worry as little as possible, and dig in to life.

When the bookshelves are empty, they're just waiting for new books to fill them...I've got my pen, and I'm ready to start writing.

Love and peace,

Amelia

P.S. I sang karaoke for the first time in years while visiting my new roomie in Chatty...man, it felt good to sing in front of people again! :-)