Wrapping Up!

Today, I went to the DMV (department of motor vehicles) to get my license plate tag and to transfer the title of my car from Illinois to Florida. It is the last item that needed to be completed due to my move. I am officially a Floridian. I have its drivers license, a house, a car that is now registered in Florida, and I have voted in this state. The move is complete.

Was it a good move for me? Yes. I do miss my friends and family members, but the bad outweighed the good for me staying in Illinois. And now the weather is changing there, and I am really glad I moved. I just talked to a friend of mine who is still in Illinois but winters in Arizona. She said it is 12 degrees outside and it is snowing. This winter in Illinois is supposed to be the same as in '14, and that was the winter I decided to move. It was soooo cold for soooo long. It is chilly here, too. It is in the low 70s right now so I can wear my jeans and a long sleeve shirt. But there is no snow, no bone chilling winds. The weather alone was a deciding factor for my move.

I came here knowing a few people, bought a house sight unseen, and had no idea how to get around and how far the towns were from me. I've come a long way in the past 2 years. I know a few more people, have done many projects to the house, and can get around pretty good and am learning my way around the two large towns around me -- Tampa and Sarasota. Brandon is in there, too. But, the big thing is there is always something to do here.

In Illinois, I was bored. Real bored. Here, there is always someplace to explore. Someplace new and exciting. There are tons of restaurants and if all else fails, I can go to the beach and walk along the Gulf's sandy beaches. I have yet to be bored. Actually, it's probably the total opposite. I am sometimes so busy that I have to make lists of what to do that day and week.

But my interests are changing. When I first came, I got into ceramics, then I joined a writing group, then DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), then stain glass, then genealogy. But, two years later I can see that these groups are shifting in importance.

I have never felt like this at the end of any year. It's like I am wrapping up activities that will go by the way-side, and I am revving up activities that will take front and central. This end of a year feels like a total break and in 2017 I will be starting refreshed and renewed.

I know. There are a couple more weeks left of the year, but that is what I need to complete what I have started. There will be more to write about this as the year closes and 2017 begins, but for now....I am a Floridian!

Until next week...have a good one!