Blog Post 2: Leaving DC for Ponte Vedra

I hope all of you enjoyed your summer – we’ve just crossed into fall and we can certainly feel it in DC! This is our last week in the city before Sammie, Honey, and I pack our bags and head back down to Florida – for good. It’s a bittersweet move. So many life-changing things have happened to me while I’ve been in Washington. I built my entire fundraising career and wealth of knowledge (though of course, learning is never ending). I fell in love, and out of it. I adopted Samson. I got a scary medical diagnosis. I birthed this idea for Sammie’s House. I adopted Honey. And finally, I decided it was time to leave.

I am impatient in this stage of progress. Things are moving very quickly now, but I can’t seem to stop and enjoy how far we’ve come when all I can think of is how much there is to still do! When we get settled in Ponte Vedra, our temporary home, surrounded by family, we’ll begin our hunt for the perfect piece of property for the sanctuary’s permanent home. I have been reading up on Florida and Southern Georgia realtors like I’ve been reading dating profiles – could you be the one for me? While we tour land and weigh our options, I’ve also accepted two full time jobs fundraising for other nonprofits. While they are both fully remote (and both incredible causes!) I know my time will be stretched to the max. But hey, what’s that saying? If you want something to get done, give it to a busy person? I buy that. Plus, I have the fire inside me motivating me to keep pushing. The work I do now is necessary to build the organization these animals deserve. And that notion is enough to keep me going through anything.