15 Weeks Postpartum…

This is my birth story… Where do I start? Labor was pretty tough. In total, it lasted about 25 hours. It started a little slow around 9:30am on July 9th.  I was excited and scared. It was a bit of work, but I was able to get some rest around 6:30pm. I slept until around 12am on July 10th, and then the real work began. Hard and steady from 12:30am until about 10:30am. I was tired, but surprisingly energized at the same time throughout the entire morning. There was singing, shouting, some crying… ok let me be honest, I was bawling at times. Then, there was a relief. I have never been so excited in my life for this newness that I was experiencing. I was so grateful for everything to be over, but scared because I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. I fell right back asleep until about 12pm and my mom came home from whatever she was doing. She missed the arrival, but she was present for the best part!

Ok… before you go all crazy wondering why I don’t have some picture of a wrinkled baby posted on my blog, I need to disclose that I am speaking metaphorically.  The birth to which I am referring is the birth of this new season of life. On July 9th, I started packing my car in the morning before I  went to work. I returned my cable modem, went to work, had lunch, said some goodbyes, teared up a little, then I went home when I started packing my car more. I went to bed at 6:30pm that day because I was going to be driving through the night. I woke up around 12am on July 10th and finished packing the car. By 1:30am, I was fueled and ready to hit the road.

I already had an extensive playlist ready. I sang my little heart out. I cried a lot because I couldn’t believe after nine years that I would be on this journey back to Georgia. I danced. I yelled at some trucks. I ate, fueled the car twice, stopped at rest stops, and finally after a long journey on the road I arrived back home at 10:30am. My mom was out doing things retired people do, and she came back home just as I was waking up from my nap. She came home to an explosion of Dana.

All of this (which all fit into my 4 door sedan):

Turned into this disaster in my house:

I wasn’t sure of what I was going to happen, or what would be next. I wasn’t sure how I was going to like working remotely. I wasn’t sure where I would find new employment because my full-time remote status was temporary.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to really be able to make gains relationally with family and friends. I wasn’t sure I was going to find a church that I would love. I wasn’t sure if I was going to even like being back in Georgia.

Fifteen weeks later, I am going strong. I have found a wonderful church. I am making some great gains in various areas of my life. There are ups and downs. There was definitely some “postpartum depression” when I thought about the things, opportunities and people that I left behind. I had some growing pains, discomfort, frustrations, disappointments – you name it. I also had some fun, lots of rest, excitement and peace. I’m not trying to put out there that this move was just some easy remedy to my Florida misery. It was a necessary catalyst to really making a difference in my life, which had to start from the foundation – my family. It’s still hard at times, but I feel that I am growing a lot, and learning how to be a part of this crazy group of people. I have come to learn more about my resilience, as well as some untapped passions that I’d actually ignored. There are some other visions I want to explore that I have verbalized to some of my friends and family, but surprisingly those are not what’s come to the forefront. So… there’s more to come about this journey in the near future. Stay tune!

But for now…

I am thankful.

I am blessed.

I am challenged.

I am joyful.

I am hopeful.