The dream is this: I find a job in Birmingham. It’s enough to pay my bills on 40 hours a week, plus enough to save a little for retirement.
I move out of my grandmother’s house and into a Southside apartment with Katie. My family is all still within a half hour of me, and my 16-year-old cousin and I can have girly sleepovers with movies and chocolate chip cookie dough.
Living with Katie also means having a close friend down the hall. Susan (well, both Susans, actually) would be just 10 minutes away. Living in Southside means living in my church neighborhood and just over the mountain from my community group (as well as Anna, Jeff and Heath). It means walking to coffee or friends’ homes (maybe). It means deepening friendships and a short drive to work.
The reality is this: It’s not likely to happen, at least, not soon. The one Birmingham job I currently have a shot at is part time (which would be OK, but wouldn’t fulfill the dream. And, after reading the job description, I’m afraid I could be overqualified).
The dream is several years away still, and by then it will probably assume a different incarnation.
Still, it’s nice to dream.