the first post

i'm guessing that i'm supposed to start off with some sort of introductory "who am i" type of post, but, i'd rather not. so here goes.

it's official: i'm tired of being in transition.

i moved to a new town to a new job in a new state about a year ago. to further complicate matters, i, in some people's eyes, acquired a new ontological status by being ordained. whether you (or i) agree with the whole ontological change at ordination thing (i'm not completely convinced), the fact of the matter is, people somehow put me in a different category. when people find out i'm a priest, there tends to be a person-shaped hole in the wall as they run screaming in terror. well, first, they stand there in confusion, their cognitive dissonance practically palpable as they assess the painted toenails, the shoes (flip-flops or high heels), the jewelry, and, of course, the princess parts. even if they decide to stick around and talk, i'm more of a novel curiosity than an actual human being. that's a hell of a reality to get used to, on top of the whole normal life transition stuff. so, transition? not my favorite.

even so, against all odds, and my propensity to be melodramatic, things have gotten somewhat better. there are some people here i feel like i might be able to call my friends now, and i've got a couple of people i'm grooming to be friends. i've forced some young clergymen to be my friends, whether they like it or not (that was kinda fun).

but here's the catch (why is there always a catch?): today, monday, august 27th, the husband started a new job... for which he has to receive training for six to nine months in a metropolitan area about 1.5 hours away from where we live.

blah.

yeah, thankful for good, interesting job in a region where jobs are not exactly plentiful, yes, i'll see him on the weekends, maybe even some during the week. it's more that i was finally feeling a little settled, like maybe the husband and i had gotten some sort of rhythm down that finally worked for us. but so much for that.

then i got to thinking. will i ever not be in transition? i'll probably be ready for a new job in a few years: transition. we might have children at some point: hello, serious unchangeable transition. if life is just one transition after another, then why do i keep expecting it to settle down? should i just be grateful when things do feel like they're falling into place and just call them what they are: a grace-filled abnormality?

so if i'm tired of being in transition, maybe that's just my too bad, because i'm pretty sure i've been mislabeling "transition;" i should have just been calling it "life."