Take Me to My City By the Bay

Courage is not the absense of fear.  But rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. -Redmoon

For the last 11 months, this poster has hung on on our living room wall. It's the first thing you see when you walk in the front door but when people asked us the significance, we really had no answer. We love San Francisco. It's the first place we went on vacation together, when we had only been dating for 2 months and Todd told me he was joining me for one night of my birthday trip up there. It was a whirlwind trip and I'll always remember it.

Fast forward a year, and we have made the decision to uproot ourselves to that big, beautiful city by the bay. We're leaving our jobs, our parents and so, so many comforts behind... but you know what? I'm excited. I am ready. I am fueled by a sense of adventure that I haven't felt in seven years since I moved to London for a short while. It feels like it's been a lifetime since I started this job over six years ago, and to say I'm ready to move on is an understatement.

In six years, I have...

-been promoted twice

-traveled to Charlotte, New York, and Washington, DC to expand our programs, meet charities around the country and take a stand on Capitol Hill

-watched staff come, and watched staff go

-met a boyfriend-turned-fiance-turned-husband

-become a wife

-watched those around me suffer incurable diseases

-had a couple of surgeries

-gossiped my fair-share

-been let down, been praised, been let down again

-watched people change, for better or worse

-worked my butt off

-cried my fair share of tears

-laughed uncontrollably

-been driven crazy by petty work drama, unfaithful coworkers and difficult personalities

-(dreamed of starting my own business because of all those things)

-traveled on private jets, attended 5-star charity galas, been treated to countless fancy meals and met some dynamic celebrities, political people and nonprofit leaders

-wished i had a magic wand to cure family and friends from life's curveballs

-experienced sheer joy, happiness, sadness, frustration, love, disappointment, confusion and contentment...

So here's to new adventures. Here's to giving up the big 2-bedroom apartment for a smaller and pricier home. To living in a city that's full of life and love and beautiful things.  To new restaurants, new bars, new streets and new faces.  To new jobs, taller buildings and bigger parks. We are so ready and so excited... the best is yet to come!