Trippin' on change.

Eights months ago I moved here.

I had no idea what it would be like. I ONLY knew it was FAR.

FAR from a grocery store. FAR from pizza. FAR from, well, Chinese delivery wasn't an option either.

There were DEER everywhere. And, people here hated them, or they overfed them.

Every house was on a hill or under a hill.

The driveways were like little roller coasters. Still, there are some roads I won't even attempt to go up or down.

The breeze that flows through the Palm trees sounds like the ocean. It's so cold here some days. It's hot other days and suddenly weirdly rainy.

The stars are like darts of light through a dark blanket over the sky. They are so confident out here they make you feel small.

If the neighbor leaves, you hear it for MILES.

I've overcome the grocery store drive. I've found my tricks.

I've navigated the clicks. I know where I fit in. I think. Or, I thought I did.

I've learned with change, big change like this- -leaving a city you've known for YEARS surrounded by friends that ARE your family, to move to another small town very different from the BIG city you lived in..it takes a lot of time to adjust.

People aren't always what they seem at first. Or even at the second glance.

Heck, I'm not even the same.  Some days I'm confident. Other days, I'm pretending.  Oddly sometimes, I attract more friends when I stop caring- -stop trying. But, it hurts NOT to care. But, then sometimes, it's easier NOT to try too.

I'm changing too.  I feel like everything is still changing out here. There are so many ropes to learn. It's like a pecking order out here. If I get overconfident, someone comes along and trips me.

It's like I'm the new girl and everyone's bound and determined to underestimate me. Or, overestimate me.

Then, I have to dust off my hands, wipe my knees and get back up again and paint a smile on my face.

But, with all of the change. All of the trips. All of the falls. I'm still the same from the CORE.

I think.

I still love navy blue. I still LOVE writing. I still love my friends. And, when I find some here, I'll love them too.  I know. I know. It takes time.

And though the winds are always changing. I know that it is fair. It is fine- -even if sometimes they feel too harsh. They SOUND so harsh against the window panes. It's like the weather is as temperamental as the neighborhood welcome season.

It comes and goes like a fashion fad. One day "you're in and the next you are out.."

I know it's NOT that bad. But, if I was meeting the new girl, I would have sat her down already, introduced her to some people and taken her out to dinner to JUST get to know her already.

I feel like I'm waiting in the wings sometimes for the show to start. Or, with an over-excited grin when I just get ONE wave from someone I'm starting to know, it makes my day and it's embarrassing if I show that it does.

No one needs new friends as much as someone that doesn't have them. Yet.

I know. Change. It takes time.  That's what I keep hearing. I GOT it.

Meanwhile, I make myself busy. Taking on two more part-time jobs. Work MORE from home. Tread water for a bit.

And eventually, the stars- -all of those things I LOVED about my Houston home- - will feel closer to  this new "home".

 The deers won't feel so exotic and the friends around here will feel like a new family again for me too. And, I'll be like a star among them.