Saying Goodbye to the Chi

I figured it would be easiest to start from the beginning and give everyone a brief overview of life in Dublin over the past 6 months, starting with our departure from the states, so here goes...

Upon moving, my Mom gave me a journal to record my travels and thoughts. She uses one for all her trips and suggested I do the same to remember the little things. I haven't written in a journal consistently since I was in middle school, perhaps sporadically in high school. At that time, my journal entries consisted of teenage drama and cute boys' names drawn in hearts (or worse, my name with some boy's last name... Mrs. Abby [insert crush of the moment surname here] ha..). Needless to say, what I consider newsworthy has changed quite a bit!

While I still struggle to keep up with a journal (the blog will supplement it now!), I try to write as often as I can, so I can relive all the memories we've made. I wrote my first entry the day we moved, at the airport, trying to put into words the mixture of emotions I was feeling. Any time it gets a little tough here, I reread these words and try to soak it up all over again, that wonderfully strange blend of nerves and enthusiasm...

The pictures included are from our final night in Chicago, at our going away party held at Galway Arms, an Irish pub down the street from our apartment. On the awning, it has the phrase "Heart of Chicago, Soul of Ireland." Very fitting. 

Journal entry, 3/25/12:

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today brings a new chapter: moving to Ireland with my new husband! In the last 8 weeks, we learned of Brandon's offer/acceptance, planned our international move, sublet our 1 bedroom we called home for the last 2 1/2 years, got engaged, I quit my job, and we got MARRIED! Life is moving at lightening speed...

Now I sit at O'Hare Airport with my Starbucks coffee, looking out the window at a fortunately sunny March day in Chicago, watching our 9 suitcases that we've packed our lives into over the last few days. Brandon is dropping off the borrowed car and I'm taking a moment to take it all in... 

I can't help but tear up thinking of leaving Chicago. It has become my home in the 3 1/2 years I've lived here and it will always hold a special place in my heart. How life has changed since I made the move to the big city, wide eyed and jobless! Brandon and I built a life in Chicago -- separately and, more importantly, together -- with work, friends and the every day. I will miss Chicago and the lifelong friends I made there so much! What a great city :)

Taking "Irish Car Bomb" shots... something you would never do Ireland!!

But now, it's DUBLIN time... time for a new adventure, new challenges, new sense of understanding of life and people from all over the world. My head and heart are filled with thousands of thoughts and emotions... it's been a roller coaster already! I will miss my friends and family, the comfort of my life now... but this is the most exciting thing I've ever done! 

I'm scared, anxious, sad, nostalgic, excited, nervous, pensive, frustrated at times (moving is the worst), thrilled... everything in the book! Most of all, I'm so in love and couldn't have found a better man to start this incredible journey with... I'm HAPPY... a million other things, but happy and truly looking forward to the next steps!

We're blessed with this opportunity, and I can't wait to travel the world with my partner in life and add to our amazing experiences together. Time to grow where I'm planted....

Last Chicago style Char-Cheddar dog at Weiner Circle