A New Day
Today while scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook, I noticed that today was National Railroad Day. This generated a sense of pride in myself because I am proud to be a Railroader's wife. My husband has been working for CSX for almost 8 years. As my first blog entry, I'll give you an insight into how we got to where we are today.
I met him just before he graduated college and began dating him just after he started working for CSX. He was one of those lucky people who was accepted into the Management Trainee Program with the company just before graduating college. The first year and a half of our relationship was long distance as I was finishing up my schooling at the University of Kentucky and he'd taken his first position out of the Management Trainee program as a Trainmaster in Fredericksburg, VA. It was an 8 hour drive between us, and I drove it a lot. Many times I'd get off work on a Friday night, stop to fill up for gas, Stacker 2's, and a Dr. Pepper.
Fall Break my Senior year of college I went to spend in Virginia. I saw Jonathon all of about 4 hours that weekend because one of his trains hit and killed a man. It was then and there that I realized this was how our lives were going to be. He didn't sign up for a 9-5 M-F job. He signed up to be wherever the railroad needed him, whenever they needed him.
Fast Forward 2 years and we were living in the unknown, New Jersey. We were 12 hours away from any immediate family, but it was us against the world. Even though neither of us would admit it, sometimes I think we both miss NJ. I miss going into New York City, I miss my job at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. That was one of the only jobs where I was never bored. Every 4-6 weeks a new show started and every show was completely different from the last. It was also living in New Jersey where Jonathon proposed to me on a carriage ride in Central Park. We were only there for a year, but sometimes it felt a lot longer. We thought we were being sent to Atlanta from New Jersey, but instead we were sent to Chattanooga, TN.
Going to Chattanooga scared me. When we thought we were going to Atlanta, my boss in NJ had offered to put in a good word for me at the Shakespeare Theatre in Atlanta. In Chattanooga the Arts were dying. Good thing there is a higher power to guide us when we are scared. I miss Chattanooga very much. We were there for 3 years. We made a life there. It's where we lived when I took his name. It's where we conceived and had a child. My relationship with my oldest Sister flourished again. I got to know my Niece and my Nephews that I'd only been able to keep track of with photographs. For the first time since I lived in Colorado, my BFF was only a short drive away. While I was sad to close the chapter on that life, the chapter that opened when moving to West Virginia hasn't been all bad.
Living in West Virginia has taken some getting used to. Watching the news does get depressing when it's filled with nothing but house fires, meth lab busts, the elderly being beaten and sometimes killed during home invasions so people can steal for drug money. However, if I turn the news off, I see the great neighborhood that I live in. I see neighbors who came to us and introduced themselves and offered friendship when we first moved in. I see fellow railroad families who, like us, moved here without knowing anyone else.
Recently I took Savannah to story time at the library and overheard someone talking about a great site for mommies in the area. I was eager to join because Savannah is a very social little girl who likes to interact with other kids. The group has been so welcoming and I've enjoyed the friendships that have recently budded. It's been so wonderful to meet other mom's who's main goal is to be supportive. I'm very blessed.
I met him just before he graduated college and began dating him just after he started working for CSX. He was one of those lucky people who was accepted into the Management Trainee Program with the company just before graduating college. The first year and a half of our relationship was long distance as I was finishing up my schooling at the University of Kentucky and he'd taken his first position out of the Management Trainee program as a Trainmaster in Fredericksburg, VA. It was an 8 hour drive between us, and I drove it a lot. Many times I'd get off work on a Friday night, stop to fill up for gas, Stacker 2's, and a Dr. Pepper.
Fall Break my Senior year of college I went to spend in Virginia. I saw Jonathon all of about 4 hours that weekend because one of his trains hit and killed a man. It was then and there that I realized this was how our lives were going to be. He didn't sign up for a 9-5 M-F job. He signed up to be wherever the railroad needed him, whenever they needed him.
Fast Forward 2 years and we were living in the unknown, New Jersey. We were 12 hours away from any immediate family, but it was us against the world. Even though neither of us would admit it, sometimes I think we both miss NJ. I miss going into New York City, I miss my job at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. That was one of the only jobs where I was never bored. Every 4-6 weeks a new show started and every show was completely different from the last. It was also living in New Jersey where Jonathon proposed to me on a carriage ride in Central Park. We were only there for a year, but sometimes it felt a lot longer. We thought we were being sent to Atlanta from New Jersey, but instead we were sent to Chattanooga, TN.
Going to Chattanooga scared me. When we thought we were going to Atlanta, my boss in NJ had offered to put in a good word for me at the Shakespeare Theatre in Atlanta. In Chattanooga the Arts were dying. Good thing there is a higher power to guide us when we are scared. I miss Chattanooga very much. We were there for 3 years. We made a life there. It's where we lived when I took his name. It's where we conceived and had a child. My relationship with my oldest Sister flourished again. I got to know my Niece and my Nephews that I'd only been able to keep track of with photographs. For the first time since I lived in Colorado, my BFF was only a short drive away. While I was sad to close the chapter on that life, the chapter that opened when moving to West Virginia hasn't been all bad.
Living in West Virginia has taken some getting used to. Watching the news does get depressing when it's filled with nothing but house fires, meth lab busts, the elderly being beaten and sometimes killed during home invasions so people can steal for drug money. However, if I turn the news off, I see the great neighborhood that I live in. I see neighbors who came to us and introduced themselves and offered friendship when we first moved in. I see fellow railroad families who, like us, moved here without knowing anyone else.
Recently I took Savannah to story time at the library and overheard someone talking about a great site for mommies in the area. I was eager to join because Savannah is a very social little girl who likes to interact with other kids. The group has been so welcoming and I've enjoyed the friendships that have recently budded. It's been so wonderful to meet other mom's who's main goal is to be supportive. I'm very blessed.
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