I cannot even believe it. My days left in California are
numbered, and in the single digits. I
have 8 more “sleeps” until we hit the road. It’s so bittersweet. I “grew up”
here. Although my physical growth and education happened in Mississippi/Alabama, my personal,
professional and spiritual growth happened here. It’s been hard – really really hard, grueling at times, taking
me almost past what I could handle. It has also been beautiful and passionate
and diverse and FUN and wild. It has all been worth it.
We are all set for arrival in St. Louis.
First of all, I accepted a job a few weeks ago. This is what
my interview looked like:
I’ll be working as a BCBA with Easter Seals. This will be a
huge change for me, but I look forward to the challenge. I worked so hard to
become certified – working extra hours and studying for 3 years. I’ve been able
to be a “hybrid” at Cornerstone and do both ABA and SP (speech therapy). It was
more difficult than I thought to find a job as an SLP with a full benefits
package and one that may allow me to also do ABA. I really want to continue to
challenge myself to become more experienced in ABA although part of me was
dying to go an easier route, which would be SP because I’m comfortable in this
field. So, I opted to go straight BCBA and put SP on hold. I’ll be able to gain valuable experience and have a greater foundation
for next steps in the profession and world of autism. It’ll be nice to be the “new one” and
“learner” for a while too!
We have an address! We also secured an apartment. We will be living in the
Central West End area of the city. My sister and her friend were kind enough to take a look at a place we had found online. I toured it along with them thanks to Facetime. We are looking forward to living in a more
“happening” area with restaurants, bars, and a HUGE park (Forest Park) being
within walking distance. On a side note: during a search online, I discovered
that we will make it there in time for the St. Louis African Arts Festival in Forest
Park in May! Here's a peek at what our building looks like:
Make sure to get our new address!
Through some online connections (Facebook, I love you when
used well), Luba met a contact that has his own unique connections to South Africa and PAARL!
Over more and more messages back and forth, the world got smaller and smaller and they realized they share
several mutual friends, friends that are in South Africa (including his good friend’s wife who actually came here and visited that contact AT HIS HOUSE).
WHAT!
We have been so fortunate to have networked over last
visits. We really feel at home already and we are not even there yet. Everyone
we have met has been so generous with their time and resources and contacts to
help us hit the ground running. It’s nice to experience the follow through when
people offer to help, not because anyone wants anything in return, but because they
want to.
I had my last check-up with Dr. Goddard (6 months post surgery) and all looks great! I'll be happy to not be in another room like this for a while:
We've been checking off items on the Bucket List or "Last time to eat..." list. I also spent time with some of my heroes that have been my support posse last Saturday over brunch. Here are a few highlights:
It still hasn't really "hit" that we are leaving and not coming back. It feels more like a vacation or visiting my sister since we've been planning the roadtrip. I'm sure it will hit during the trip or after arrival.
We are taking off the evening of April 25 after spending the
day with friends. We will stop over and sleep in Barstow (I know, I know) so
that we will be half-way to our destination in Arizona.
We will also celebrate our anniversary on Sunday April 26 on
the first real day of the road trip. It was not planned at all. When I realized
this date, I just thought to myself, “of course it’s our anniversary.” It’s the
perfect date to start a new adventure, a new chapter, a fresh start.
I’ll keep you updated as we go – through good-byes and road
trip destinations. We take you with us, and your support sustains.
Love,
Danielle
