A Year Ago Today, I was Depressed.

A year ago today, I was on the brink of depression, a depression that any avid reader knows didn't even have the decency to suffocate my appetite. It should be a rule that skinniness always accompanies depression.

A year ago today, I sat in my living room and felt completely defeated, and for the next six months I lived with a why am I here mentality (not a why am I alive, but why am I living in Arkansas mentality ... I know why I'm alive). I poured myself into an imaginary book that will never be published, and started blogging. Today marks the first anniversary of Life in a Retirement Community. Happy Birthday!

A year ago today, I asked myself if I would like it here. Today my answer is a simple, not really, but it's ok! As my avid readers know (and yes, I have avid readers. Hi mom!), I miss good shopping ... I even miss decent shopping. Shopping that doesn't have Old Navy as a staple. I miss getting coupons in the mail and rushing out to use them. Instead no one has heard of Ulta and Ann Taylor, J. Crew, and Target are nonexistent, and my coupons expire before I can use them. I know that I am daily committing coupon blasphemy by throwing them away. It is just too painful to watch them expire. Some landfill is cashing in on my unused 10% discounts. I miss sneaking frivolous purchases into my closet. Now I just unabashedly march in with my shopping load because no one can argue with $5.00 shirt from TJ Max. I miss movie theaters with a credit card machines and stadium seating. While I enjoy the outdoors and the few friends I have made, this will never quite feel like home. I don't necessarily want to move back home, I just want to live somewhere with a little more vibrancy and a lot more shopping.

My depression has taken a hiatus: I changed gyms, found a new yoga studio (that ironically just let go of my favorite instructor), recruited younger neighbors to replace the 60 year olds next door, changed careers, and finally after four years of begging I got a bike. I am a total granola when I bike to yoga.

Needless to say, my worst nightmare has come true, I have adjusted. I survived my first tick bite, got over missing the 10 inches of snow at Christmas, and spend my weekends on the lake.
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Happy Birthday Life in a Retirement Community.