one year post-Massachusetts

A year ago today I left Massachusetts and began my grand drive out to California. I could not have been happier to leave there.

A year later, we're not in the place we want to be in many ways. That said, I do not regret any of the choices we've made on the road here. At all.

To be fair, living in Massachusetts wasn't all bad. There are things that I miss about it.

For example:

• Our great veterinarian. The office was close to home, it was open every day of the week, the staff was wonderful, and the facility was state-of-the-art.
• Our cat food store. It was just down the street from where we lived and they carried all of the fancy foods our cats liked. Things we can't find in stores here. We have to order the only canned food that Jasper will eat online now, and it costs $75 for each two-case order.
• Sales tax-free shopping in New Hampshire.
• Our favorite local restaurants: Mehmaan and La Carreta in Nashua, New Hampshire; Minado in Natick, Massachusetts; Family Pizza in Dracut, Massachusetts; and Life Alive in Lowell, Massachusetts.
• The proximity to Boston.
• The proximity to Maine.
• The vaulted ceilings in our apartment.
• The fresh air. Fresher than here, anyway.

Jason misses his old job and hanging out with his dad.

We will find the right place for us. It wasn't Massachusetts. It isn't California.

It's a big world out there. We'll just keep looking.