What a long strange month it has been ...

I woke up this morning to a view of newly snow-capped Longs Peak. It sure is good to be home. You wouldn't have seen those words here a week or two ago, though. I was really having a tough time with the move, being in a new town and letting go of what had become so much a part of my identity: my work at RU. Much more happened to me over the past seven years than I had realized, until I came home. Home is now a different place and I am a totally different person. I learned so much in Virginia, not only professionally but culturally. Can it be possible that I've become more confident and assertive, while at the same time becoming softer and more, well, feminine, I suppose? The South brought out the pink-lover in me (and I'm not talking about the pop songstress, here). One of the first things I noticed when I moved there was that the girls were girly. I went to a bar, jean clad with barely any make-up on; I was surrounded by dressed-up twenty-somethings, faces full of make-up, with their hair done up and dangerously close to the lighters they used to light up their tiny, skinny cigarettes. As the years progressed I started wearing nicer pants when we went out, but still rarely a skirt. It was a big step for me, though. A terminal tomboy, I felt myself thinking more about my femininity and appreciating it more, I think. I met several Southern women who were masters at subtly using their femininity to get what they wanted. It seemed so much nicer and more graceful than "playing a man's game" and being aggressive to get what you want on a professional level. I began to appreciate it. Anyway, I think some of that may have rubbed off on me -- or could I be wishfully thinking that I now posses some Southern charm in my new Western home? Well, I'm starting to adjust and seeing Longs this morning and traveling to Estes Park yesterday evening made me feel more at home in my new home, which is basically a few doors down from my old, old home. I've updated my web site. Check it out, will ya?