Aja's Northwest Life

Five years ago (almost to the day, if I’m remembering correctly … and I do have a freakish memory), I made a decision that completely and utterly changed the course of my life.

Born and raised in Southern California, I decided to move north.

… kind of on a whim, in fact. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say, the opportunity presented itself and I had to choose. Did I stick to the path I’d been on most of my life (digging myself out of a somewhat unfortunate existence with higher education and hard work), or shift my priorities entirely and hop on a brand new, unknown road.

Being an adventurous, change-seeking type of girl, I hopped, skipped and jumped right on over to the unknown.

I left my life in Southern California a single, 25 year old woman, with an education and a lot of valuable work and life experience. I had been on my way to law school and a career driven life.

Instead I found myself in my dependable, silver, 4-door sedan, packed to the gills with clothes, shoes, pillows, blankets, toiletries and mementos, on a road I’d never seen, heading somewhere I had never been, toward a life I’d never imagined.

At the time I wondered if I was running away from something (besides traffic, smog, heat and noise), but now I know that I was headed toward the rest of my life. I made a brave decision to leave everything I’d ever known, and start over with new priorities.

So now it’s been five (I can’t BELIEVE it!) years since I made that decision and it’s hard to believe how much has happened. I moved to a small, college town in northwest Oregon, got a wonderful job, met a wonderful man with two incredible kids, left that wonderful job, got married, gained a slew of in-law family, lived on a small family farm, moved to Seattle, Washington, traveled, laughed, cried, cooked and laughed again. These last five years have been pure insanity … and I wouldn’t take a minute of it back.

But the truth is, I’ve lost a little of myself in becoming a wife, step-mother, insert title-in-law, and long distance friend and family member. I was once a brainy girl with a lot going on and a lot of goals. Now that I’ve spent these few years laying a foundation, I think it’s finally time to build.

So this is my next chapter … and I can’t wait to write it.

Always,

Aja Lynn