Goodbye Minnesota...

I can't believe it's my last day in Minnesota. It's been a gorgeous day here, and has felt very much like fall. There's a change in the air that I haven't felt yet this season, which seems very fitting for the change I'm about to embark upon. I will miss fall in Minnesota because it is just so beautiful, but I'm excited to see fall in the canyons. It looks like the temperatures there can range from quite warm during the day to cool at night. I hope I am bringing the right clothes! I have everything from shorts and tanks to pants and fleece. Everything's packed except for what I need to use tomorrow morning to get ready.

I'm feeling such a mix of emotions: anxious, sad, and excited. There are so many people (and one very special dog) who I love here. I am seriously blessed with amazing family and friends. So it's hard to think of not seeing some of them for 5 weeks and others for even longer. But then I think of how busy I'll be at Best Friends and how many amazing animals and people I'll meet there. I can't wait to meet the other interns, the staff, and the people from whom I'm renting a room. I can't wait to meet my project animal! I'm sure that when the time comes to leave Utah and return to Minnesota, part of me will also be sad at that time.

As for being anxious, well that always happens for me with travel, change, and unknowns. My brain likes to take all those unknowns and fill them in with bad things that have happened in the past or with potential new scary situations. Thanks a lot, brain. That being said, I have faith that I will be carrying strength within me. I've been in tough situations before, and even though they may have been miserable, I've always survived. I've always been strong enough to get through. So, even though part of my brain is trying to catastrophize the world, another part of me is able to see that this has the potential to be such an amazing, beautiful, cathartic experience. And that's the part of me that's beyond excited!

I'm writing today's blog in the afternoon so that I can spend a quiet evening with my loved ones and snuggle Lincoln within an inch of his life. He's been playing with other dogs all day today, so he'll be exhausted and in a snuggly mood. I want to relax and get to bed early tonight, because I have a pretty early start tomorrow and a long day of travel ahead! First, I'll take a plane from Minnesota to Salt Lake City, and then I'll hop on a small plane from there to St. George, UT. Then, it's about a 2 hour drive to Kanab. Here's hoping I make my connection in SLC (I think I only have about a half hour layover!) and that the car rental and drive go well.

Next blog will come to you from the beautiful canyons of southern Utah!

BONUS: Just because I'll miss Lincoln so much, here's a little video of him, taken one year ago: