An Adventure in Moving

Well, for those of you who haven’t gotten the news yet, I’m going to law school.

Sorry, but this is going to involve leaving The Star. I love the paper and I love my work, but I’m plotting some changes.

Jeff, Skip and the rest of the folks here have known for a while now (months, actually) and have already gotten my replacement lined up. They’re sorry to see me leave but happy for me. We’ve been working to try and make the transition as seamless as possible. I’ve been invited to keep blogging and writing columns, and look forward to doing so with some selfish motives.

"Adventure Columnist" sounds a lot sexier than "Lawyer."

I asked my Dad what he thinks of my plan.

"Being an adventure columnist is sexier than being a lawyer? No way! Why, being a corporate lawyer is so, well - you're right."

He’s a lawyer.

So I’m moving in with my parents in Wake Forest for the summer (yes, this makes twice I’ve moved back home since graduation. They enjoy the free labor), then over to Chapel Hill in August. I’m packing and getting ready to move in mid-June and going through all that stuff. Actually, I’m using a goodly number of those outdoorsy skills they taught in scouts – being prepared, resourcefulness, planning ahead….

First of all, the Ingles on 74 west out of Shelby has stacks of really good cardboard boxes they’re happy to give away. Knowing where to find packing materials may not be quite as valuable as knowing how to find water in the desert, but I’ll take what I can get.

I’ve been working to get all my ducks in a row for the past few months. Pack a box here, recycle some stuff there, ferry a carload stuff to my folks’ house, give away a terrarium (read – cracked aquarium) that I’ve been using as an end table….

Everything I handle at my leisure now, on my own, with plenty of time and in good weather is one less hassle on moving day when it’s a hundred degrees, we’re running late, I’m tired, my folks are frustrated, we’re bleeding and swearing, it’s starting to rain… more on the blog: jderrickstar.blogspot.com.

I’ve heard that moving is considered one of the more traumatic things a person goes through. I’ve not seen any formal study on the matter, and I’d have to place a massive divide between such a comparatively minor hassle and the horror of losing a family member, fighting a war, facing deadly disease or other such terror, but I can agree that moving and starting school involve some changes.

Just because a change is good doesn’t always mean it’s easy at the time – ask some of my friends upon graduation, not always with jobs waiting for them. Or maybe a newlywed getting used to their new a roommate. Or a friend of mine who just had a baby. That’s a big change in her life, and a good one (I got a new buddy, Yay!), but I’m sure there were and will be a few times when it’s not a whole lot of fun. I guess the big steps are some of the hardest, but potentially some of the best.

Personally, being fortunate enough to have the option of a graduate education, I can’t complain.
Rather I try to be thankful for my blessings and look to these strong examples set by my family and friends as we map out our lives as artisans, entrepreneurs, soldiers, parents, teachers….

That’s the adventure.