to truly miss St Croix.
My first week back in Charlotte was great. I literally did not stop and jumped right back in the swing of things. My best girlfriend and new roommate Shelby greeted me at the airport Saturday night with flowers. It was funny, we were driving to our place and as nice as it was to see each other for the first time since early January, it also felt like we had just made that drive a few weeks prior. It definitely did not feel like I had been gone for six months. It was just the start of the week that all of this felt like it was validation that I was where I was supposed to be.
Sunday was non-stop - from church to brunch to car shopping to family dinner. It was so good to see so many friends my first day back! And the rest of the week was no exception. I spent Monday morning finalizing all of the details of my new Jeep (the "Mango Tango" - as much sadness as I had leaving my Jeep on the island, I have had NO regrets about selling it and buying a new one!). Ran a few errands, but was back at home by 1pm to catch up on work for the afternoon, then met up with my friend Christel for our routine Monday night "run" (which ended up just being a walk since I hadn't run for months and had a lot of talking to do!!) and more importantly, catching up over Ben and Jerrys. Tuesday was my first day back in the office - Dport and I started the morning at Starbucks and my first comment was that it was weird that it didn't feel weird - again, it felt like we had just walked across the street for coffee the previous week. That night I went from work to Target to lifegroup. Wednesday was the same, with volleyball and trivia at night. By Thursday, I had 5 blisters on my feet from work shoes, but quickly forgot about the pain catching up with girlfriends over stoli doli's at Capital Grill. Friday was a nice day working from home, then had a low key evening with my friend Bryan - talk about perfect setting meeting up on his hammock right on the water - a good reminder of some of my favorite things to do in STX. Saturday was another crazy day - from my brother's, to catching up with neighbors, to Target and Kohls, to lunch, to hair appointment, to coffee with a friend, to church - it finally hit me in the middle of the day that I was EXHAUSTED and that I had not stopped for an entire week straight! And, I ended up telling the story of St Croix five separate times considering all of the different friends I caught up with that day. I came home ready to go to bed at 7:30 pm! Luckily Shelby and her friend Sara arrived home soon after, so we ended up having a nice low key rest of the evening out on the balcony.
I am glad that if I learned anything from my time in St Croix, it was that I loved Sunday fundays (and sadly, I only had three of those in a row in April that I can truly claim - I think I've mentioned before, what the heck was I doing every other Sunday?!?). I took full advantage of my Sunday and enjoyed not making any plans (and thank goodness, I don't think I could have handled it after Saturday!). It was a beautiful day outside, so Shelby, Sara, and I walked to breakfast, then Shelby and I walked to Freedom Park where I stayed for a few hours just sitting and relaxing, reading and people watching. It was exactly what I needed to do - and it made me glad to be "home". I took Shelby to the airport, picked up a few more things at my brother's, then had dinner with my friend Michelle - an ideal Sunday in my book!
Then it's ironic how I felt a huge shift on Monday. I was SO TIRED. I think the previous week finally caught up with me, and I haven't seemed to catch up since. Again, from work, to meeting up with Christel, to a women's event at the church made for a full day. Then last night I'm glad I didn't have any plans, and my brother was nice enough to pick up take-out and came over here to watch the Cubs/Cardinals game while I baked a cake. Then again today, I was just tired - a busy day at work, a double header on the volleyball court. I was even too tired to go out for trivia and chili cheese fries!
I think one thing I am realizing is that I need to take some of the lessons learned in St Croix and incorporate them back into life in Charlotte. This week I've realized how much I miss the pace in St Croix ... ah, "island time". Of course I kept myself plenty busy in STX, but it was mostly self-imposed. Here, I feel that there are so many other factors driving my schedule - that I have less control and influence over it. And I like being busy, but I've realized when I'm the one causing it.
It sure hasn't taken long this week to be ready to go back ...
