Three

Three years ago today I was packing my bags in California, putting Riley in a crate, saying my good-byes and leaving for London. Wow, three years ago. I can't believe how fast it has gone. And now three years later London is home (for the most part, although the Bay Area will always be in my heart), daily life has become routine, I have a doctor AND a dentist here (still no hair cutter), favorite restaurants, favorite places, some really great friends and generally a LIFE here. When you first move anywhere, much less overseas and 5,000 miles away, all those little things that make up a life seem so daunting, especially the friends part. It's easy to find a dry cleaners, ok maybe not a good and cheap one in London, but that can be done. The doctor and dentist may take a little more time, and the favorite places to eat, the old stand-bys, come with time, as do friends. And now three years later I can look back and see how far I have come, how much I have accomplished, how comfortable living in London has become, how much I have grown and even changed during the past three years. I can appreciate all the trips Dave and I have taken, trips that we wouldn't otherwise have made living in San Francisco. I can also appreciate that albeit with no language issues to contend with, moving overseas to a new city and country has opened my eyes and allowed me new experiences and challenges than I wouldn't have had if we stayed in California. For that I am grateful.

Three years ago today I wasn't nervous. I was sad to be saying good-bye yes, but after a year living apart from Dave I was ready to be reunited. I didn't question what I was doing, why I was doing it, how I would cope, I was only thinking of how happy I was to be moving to the same city after 11+ months of trans-Atlantic marriage. And I still have no regrets. I do miss San Francisco and the Bay Area, my family, my friends back home, but I like what I have here. I like that I now feel really comfortable with people I have met and gotten to know. I feel comfortable in London, and really do see it as home. It took a while to feel that way, not three years, but a while to be settled in to life here. And now as I start my fourth year here, I look forward to more trips (Norway, Provence and the Matterhorn amongst others), more good times, more friendships, more Nando's, and more London. I have no idea how much longer we will be living here, 1 year, 2 or 10, but I look forward to my remaining time here, largely due to how the past three years developed and what they brought me. So today I am thankful for that June day three years ago when I boarded a plane bound for London, my dog in the hold down below, and I started my new life with Dave in the UK.