The Haircut

I was starting to think that I might not follow through on a long held dream when I was offered a job on a small tropical island starting next month. I had promised myself that one day I would live in another country, and it's technically a US territory, but this is the closest I'm going to get to that dream. I am very blessed to have the opportunity to continue working in my professional field instead of taking any job I could get to live abroad. In fact, I am blessed to have a job at all in this economy. Will I make a positive, lasting impact instead of just be another mainland "ex-pat" taking over their land?

This isn't my first move to a place that is a plane flight away where I don't know I soul - it's my third. If only I had made more of an effort to document my reflections of those experiences, I might now have a greater appreciation for how I've changed. So, I'll start now:

Two days ago I cut off all my hair and donated it. Thumbsy reminds me that long hair is such a mess when getting out the ocean and that was enough of a selling point for me. Speaking of Thumbsy, he wants to come with me. Now you're probably thinking that he just wants to go because it's an excuse to live somewhere fun. That's not it at all. He does not want to leave Virginia - he's doing it for me. Now that's something. Thumbsy has never moved away from home before. Even when he went to college, it was an hour away. Will our relationship last? If it does, will his parents ever forgive me? He's not seen much of the country or the world, but I know that underneath all that practicality and financial good sense is a craving for adventure.