Purgefest 2010: so far a resounding success!

I'm a happy girl these days. I admit it: I like to get what I want and fortunately, things are unfolding just as I had hoped.

For those of you new to this blog, a couple of months ago I quit my job, got rid of most of my possessions, gave up my fab luxury apartment, sold my 14-year-old car and bought a new one and told my boyfriend I'm leaving Las Vegas to spend the summer with my family and friends in upstate New York and hoped he'd still be there for me when I returned.

I purged everything that no longer brought me joy. I gratefully released circumstances in my life that had run their course. I put a treasured relationship on hold. I shook the Etch-a-Sketch of life and crossed my fingers that the next picture I'd create would be a pretty one and not a scrambled mess.

I took a risk. So far, it's paying off.

Since I initiated Purgefest 2010, I laughed my ass off during a 12-day cross-country trip of a lifetime with my sister/best friend. I savor every minute while in the company of my daughter and son. I hold my beautiful infant granddaughter almost every day. I'm able to joke with my 11-year-old grandson before he gets too cool for granny humor.


I'm enjoying the Albany music scene, and have seen bands in a coffeehouse, the back room of a downtown bar, in the backyard of a watering hole in a tiny hamlet, and on the banks of the Hudson River.


I watched with pride as my son-in-law played with his band, and will practically burst next Saturday night when my daughter plays her first gig since giving birth 2 months ago.

My dear friends Tim and Susan have extended me an open-ended invitation in their country home.


I feel like we're a bunch of college kids again, sharing a house together. I am filled with joy as I listen to Tim play his guitar on the deck and watch them cuddle on the couch after 31 years of marriage.

Last Friday I started a technical writing job that will last through September--perfect timing for my return to Las Vegas. It took me two weeks to find that gig. They offer benefits, a 401-K, paid life insurance and an hourly rate that's higher than the job I gave up. My co-workers are awesome.

My relationship with Mike is stronger than ever. Forget "out of sight, out of mind"; absence has made our hearts grow fonder.

The moral of the story is, don't be afraid to take risks. If you're not happy with the way your life is going, take the steps you need to take to change it. Figure out what you want, what will make you happy, and for God's sake, just do it.

I've gone to two wakes in the past five days. Enough said.