Wednesday, January 7, 2015

2014 - The Year I Stopped Waiting

In 2014, I experienced an amazing adventure that pushed me to my limits. Working in Tokyo, in the legal department of a Japanese trading company, gave me an invaluable practical education in global business, but living in Japan and surviving the crushing loneliness of that experience was the hardest thing I've ever done. It changed me.

Then, I discovered why the boyfriend that had always said he wanted to marry me never proposed. Surviving that heartbreak changed me too.

That's when I stopped waiting.

For the boyfriend to propose.
For the husband to buy a house with.
For the law firm to send me back to the US.
For things to get better.

In the space of a couple months at the end of the year, I moved to the city that's always made my heart skip a beat, started a new (better!) job with a perfect office location, and bought a beautiful, brand new house in my favorite neighborhood.

I have never felt more at the end of my rope than I did in 2014, but I have never had things come together as quickly as they did in those final few months. You know how people like to say it gets the darkest just before dawn? Yeah, that.

Things have gotten so much better, despite that I had lost hope, and, for that, I wake up each day feeling incredibly lucky. 

A heartfelt thank you to those of you who reached out to encourage me while I was in Japan. Thank you for helping me get here.

12 comments:

CP said...

Yay! So proud of you for going for it! And so happy for all the good things surely to come. PLEASE post a picture of your house. I'm house-crazy at the moment.

Anonymous said...

I hope you're back to blogging! I have missed you. I'm so glad for your fresh start. Good luck!

nrlrose7 said...

So happy to hear this and see you blogging. I hope you keep it up! Cheers to 2015!

nrlrose7 said...

So happy to hear this and see you blogging. I hope you keep it up! Cheers to 2015!

Jeg said...

So happy to see this post!

CM said...

I'm so happy that you made all these positive changes in your life! Hope 2015 is wonderful for you.

Anonymous said...

Yay! So great to read this happy post. I hope this means you are back to blogging.

Respectfully Submitted said...

So glad you're blogging again! Can you post house pics? I love real estate porn !!

Hallie said...

yay! so glad to hear it. I kinda feel the same way about my situation... it's an amazing change.

Paragon2Pieces said...

Thanks all!

@CP - I'm weary of posting pictures of the exterior publicly b/c of the ex, but I sent you some pictures via Twitter DM :)

@RespectfullySubmitted - Send me an email and I'll share!

@Hallie - So happy to hear :)

Unknown said...

Hi, Great to see you back posting. A belated Happy New Year to you.

Enjoy the house.

Meredith said...

Thrilled to read this and so happy for you!