There's good stuff here...

Step back....look around....drink it in.....

I have to confess that the title of the blog is actually a quote from one of my favorite shows. During the spiral down of a once sparkling connection, the man pauses as he walks out the door and says, "There's good stuff here."

I've always been a firm believer that if you were, at one time, truly in love with someone or something or some place, remnants of that force will remain with you always. Pieces will break off as the years roll forward and float into corridors of your mind that may not receive much attention but that person or thing or place will remain loved on some level.

I'm not suffering from a break-up but lately, I have been suffering from a lack of connection with this place that I was once so enamored with that I picked up and moved. Losing sight of the beauty and allowing myself to feel as if everything has gone to shit. Apologies, there's not lady like way to say that particular truth. A version of tunnel vision descended and all I have been able to see is the ugly that the sandy beaches do a darn good job of covering up for the tourists.

The truth is, there is ugly everywhere, if that's what you choose to focus on.

Even in...gasp...my beloved home state, Indiana. The emotional connection I have with so many that still live there is what allows me to think of Indiana as this magical place where everyone is kind, everyone can be trusted and no one ever flakes out on you.

I have read a few articles lately about transitioning from where you grew up to a far away land that you chose to move to. I have particularly focused on articles that chronicled the experience of those that chose to do that "alone" or as a single little one. It seems that the cold, hard facts point to the fact that this type of transition is just plain difficult. It's takes well over a year to establish a sense of home somewhere when you're building from nothing.

Shockingly, contrary to my typical patient nature, I haven't been patient with this process or the people that surround me.

Put the hostility down and step away, Liz. No one is saying that where you grew up isn't awesome. That doesn't mean that Florida can't be awesome too.