mini-adventure

today i drove to norwich all by myself! it was my first england adventure in which i've attempted to drive in a large city by myself on my first time into the city. previously i had the luxury of josh and michelle showing us around bury st edmunds or cambridge before attempting to navigate the city alone.

anyway, it felt great just to get in the car this morning and cruise up the A-11 into norwich. it felt like a mini-road trip, and my life has been sorely lacking road trips this year. it took about 45 minutes to get into norwich from thetford, and then i had to que for parking for a half and hour! it was nuts. i finally got a parking spot, and checked out the Castle Mall, which is really nice!

the funny thing is, i'm so used to the complete lack of selection on base, that when faced with so many options, i totally froze! i kept picking things up, trying things on (maternity jammies at Mothercare) and making plans to purchase items (such as cute baby clothes), but i couldn't bring myself to actually buy anything! part of the problem is i still think "ya know, i'd pay twenty bucks for this shirt, but twenty pounds is the equivelent of fourty bucks. and this is NOT a fourty dollar shirt." and the one time i finally found a pair of earings worth buying at a dcent price (GBP 2.50), the line was so long, i couldn't justify standing in it for a pair of earrings.

but i did have a fantastic smoothie! :) and hopefully the next time i go into norwich, i'll do something decidely less American, like go tour the cathedral, or just wander the streets.

anyway, it just felt good to get out of my house, do something off base, and attemp something slightly adventurous on my own for the first time in a long time. i was so proud of myself for finding the mall and finding parking and finding my way back home again. it made me feel like ME. i never want to become someone who's afraid to try new things and go new places, even if i have to do it alone sometimes. i don't want to hole up in this house and let the sadness of deployment eat away at me until i'm no longer myself. i don't my husband or the lack of my husband to define who i am. i want to get out and find little peices of kelly all over england.

the countdown to mom is on! five more days! :) i know she's feeling anxious about leaving home for so long, and i feel like the luckiest daughter in the world to have a mom who loves me so much she'd leave her own life behind for a few months to help me in this next adventure. i can't wait for her to get here! :)