In March of this year, when the Coronavirus was just beginning to rev up, I had accepted a dream position as a full time camp director for a Girl Scout camp near Prescott, AZ. I was living in New Hampshire at the time, and bought a one way ticket to Phoenix when the offer was unfortunately rescinded because the Girl Scouts made the early decision to cancel their camps for 2020. I would inevitably end up moving back to my home state of Oklahoma for the spring and summer, but my heart would remain stuck on Arizona.
I've lived in quite a few states for varying lengths of time, some just for a month or two for summer camp. Below is a list of each state I've lived in so far, the ones with stars are states that I left and came back to for one reason or another:
Oklahoma*
Texas*
Kentucky
Colorado
Louisiana
Virginia
Pennsylvania
New York
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Arizona*
As an adult, my moves have mostly been motivated by a new job opportunity. Unfortunately, although I have had some amazing positions with fantastic organizations, I haven't always enjoyed the places I've lived. Humid summers, blustery winters, being painfully far away from my family, have all taken their toll on me over the years.
One of the reasons I had even applied for the GS director position in the first place was because I wanted to be back in AZ after I'd found such healing in Tucson last year. So even though the GS offer had been put on hold, I still wanted to make the move.
Reasons why I chose Arizona:
1. Sunshine. Phoenix has an average of 296 days a year of sunshine
2. Options for outdoor recreation. Climbing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, etc
3. Proximity to Oklahoma/Texas without actually being Oklahoma or Texas
4. Healing effects of the desert
5. Proximity to the ocean
So I took a giant leap and decided to move to Arizona without a solid plan. This is when I decided to try WWOOFing finally (read post here), and I packed up my Chevy Cruze with the intention of making it work, however that would look. My tentative plan was to find a nannying position that would ideally include housing...Which is exactly what the universe would end up providing for me.
"Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down." -Ray Bradbury
After a week on the vineyard, I was offered a job nannying near Phoenix. Although I was hired in September, the family would not need me to start until November. So again, fate intervened and a good camp friend in Flagstaff called me up and asked if I might like to spend the month of October with her and her family. So off I went to explore Flagstaff while I waited for my nannying job to begin in Mesa, AZ.
Fast forwarding to now, and here I am! I am all settled in my own casita next to the family that I am nannying for and I am absolutely loving it. I am taking care of their only child, a 3 month old baby boy named Shay. He is the sweetest and easiest little guy and I've been loving all his snuggles and toothless grins.
I've only been in Mesa for a few weeks but I'm so grateful for my job, the beautiful place I get to live, the sunshine, and the new friends I have already made. I am looking forward to establishing myself here and really setting some roots and I'm eager to see what adventures I can get into during this exciting new chapter of life.
コメント