Roots. or, The Approach of 30

I haven't been writing, mainly because there has been SO MUCH up in the air and back and forth, and most of my thoughts have been about things I couldn't really put out there for the world to see, but I think (and really really hope) that this version of what happens in the next six months is true.

Some history: there for a while, I was going to be moving to India in February or March with my job, which would have been an AMAZING experience I'm sure, but the timing was wrong, and the more I learned about the kind of work I'd be doing, the less I felt suited for it. Five years ago, or even two, I would have gone for it anyway. But at 29, the idea of re-learning a whole new skill set, starting totally over, re-creating a life yet again...no longer filled me with absolute excitement like it would have at 25 or 27. I'm doing well with what I'm doing in my career at the moment, and in my mind I either want to build on that more or drop it all and go after something I really care about, like music, or non-profit work in Africa. This move would have been neither. I'm sure I will end up on some other exciting adventure, but I've never had a problem finding those - and I tend to know when they are right, and when they just aren't. Things go a lot better for me when I listen to myself, and the amount of hesitation I had about this really cool opportunity was a huge red flag.

So then I spent several days worried that if I turned down the opportunity, after expressing interest and starting work on it for a few weeks, they might wish to part ways with me and I'd be frantically looking for a new job or packing up to move back to NC. But (fingers crossed!) it looks like there's a great position still available in London, so provided that all goes as planned, I'll be here indefinitely, which is just amazing. This really has become my home - I'm building up my life, my friends, my neighborhood...and it's so freeing not to have an expiration date on it. Even better, it's nice not to NEED an expiration date.

The best part of the whole story is that I found a piano shop that needed help, while looking for jobs 'just in case.' I can help out there on the weekends, and on days I don't want to work from home I can go there and work from the office and be surrounded by pianos all day :) It's great!

I've been here a full 18months now - crazy how time flies!