Well, I have officially scrapped my plans to move to Seattle. After much thought and discussions with my folks and others, I decided to move to Chicago instead. It's closer to my family in Maine and my best friends in Michigan. Plus I have kind of a second family in Chicago that would be able to help me out if I ever had any kind of emergency.

I'm a little disappointed about Seattle, though I still plan to visit, so it's not so bad. I actually have been to Chicago numerous times and I love the city, so I'm very excited about the move there. I plan to go for a visit in May and apartment hunt, then make the move in July.

Excited, yes, but also a bit apprehensive. I've been safely cocooned in my family home in Maine for four years now, so it's going to be like it was going out on my own the first time. The difference is that nowadays my health is often not that great. However, that isn't going to change, so my choices are either to sit and rot alone in Maine for the rest of my life (however long that may be) or go out and try to have something like a normal life with friends and things to do - maybe even a relationship. Wow, that would be awesome. Still, it's a bit scary. Oh well, the biggest risks offer the greatest rewards. If I don't fall flat on my face, I think things will be wonderful. If not, there's no reason I can't go and try living someplace else. But I'm going to give Chicago my all and try to make a successful home of it. Only time will tell how it all works out.

Meanwhile, I'm going to finish book two of my trilogy before I go, so that's the focus of my life for the next two months. Thank goodness I've got that to keep me busy.