After searching for a job all summer, I recently got offered a job at Blackberry Farm.  This weekend, I’ll be moving to Maryville, Tennessee, and I start work on Monday!  Last school year and this summer, I was determined that I should move back to Greenville, South Carolina and find a job there.  Furman University, my alma mater, is just outside of Greenville and the city of Greenville is really a wonderful place.  On top of that, the best church I have ever been a part of is in Greenville.  I wanted to return to this place and form a long-term community.  I was tired of moving from place to place and wanted to find friends with whom I could be friends for several years.  And why shouldn’t this happen in Greenville?  I don’t know.  But apparently, God didn’t (doesn’t) want me in Greenville because He didn’t provide me with anything more than a very part-time job in Greenville.  Instead, He provided me with a job at the very first place I applied to outside of Greenville: Blackberry Farm.

I am sorry to leave Greenville.  It’s a beautiful small city that acts like a large city with all the support it gives to the arts.  And it’s a place where the people who live in or near Greenville generally really care about the city.  But I am equally excited about my next move.  Maryville is a very small town and I look forward to becoming part of a community where it seems like everyone knows everyone.  Also, Blackberry Farm is a fantastic place to get experience in the hospitality business.  I know that I will learn a lot there and I am so thankful they are giving me the chance to work with them.

I have learned over the years that I can easily convince myself that the grass is greener elsewhere.  And, with this realization, I want to be careful as I face this new adventure in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee.  Last week, my mom and I found a fabulous apartment in Maryville that I am very happy about.  But, yesterday as I went to Lowe’s to get a few more boxes for my move, I started walking up and down every single aisle and thinking about my dream home and what it will look like and how wonderful it will be to own my own home so that I can paint my walls the color I want them to be, have the kinds of sinks, faucets, doors, cabinets, hard-wood floors, and windows that I want, granted that I have the money to pay for it all…

It is lovely to be able to dream about my future and to always think on the bright side of life.  Without dreams, new ideas and discoveries and innovations would never happen.  And thinking about the good things in life more than the bad things helps keep me afloat instead of wallowing in sadness and regret.  I find myself dreaming of the day that an artificial pancreas (one that is placed inside one’s body, not outside) is created and released for the use of diabetics around the world.  I dream of the day that I can have my own bed and breakfast and invite people to stay in my beautiful home.  I dream of the day that I can return to sub-Saharan Africa to live for several years.  I dream of having kids and being the best mom possible.  And I dream of growing old with my husband and getting grey hair.  (Yes, I dream about getting grey hair.  Blonde hair turned grey is beautiful and seems to hold a great amount of wisdom in itself.)

As nice as it is to dream and think happy thoughts, I must learn to think of now and not fantasize about the past or future.  Now is where I am – where we all are – and now is where we should learn to be satisfied.  So, as I move to Maryville and start work at Blackberry Farm, I don’t want to get caught up in wishing and dreaming about something other than where I am.  I want to appreciate every minute of this new adventure and not get stuck in the dream world.

 
Links:

• Best church: http://downtownpres.org
• External artificial pancreas: http://jdrf.org/research/treat/artificial-pancreas-project/

Read from the beginning: https://soarwithlaughter.com/soar-cloud-high/