I am officially in Southern Virginia. I’ve yet to decide what I feel about this, but it does feel nice to have stopped moving for once. For a bit, anyway.

I moved up from South Carolina on Friday, thanks to the genius packing skills of my parents and gorgeous weather. Mom and I had the convertible, my Dad followed in his truck, and with the top down and country music to accompany us, we made it to the Peninsula. My parents stayed for lunch and then hit the road home, while I spent the night unpacking and continuing to Not-React-Emotionally to leaving D.C. I’d had, in SC, a moment of missing the District, but it passed as the evening did…

On one of my last nights in SC, I had the delightful opportunity to have dinner with a fellow Southerner whom I met at CPAC 2010 in D.C. John from RightWingNews was so welcoming to me during CPAC, where I had a Blogger’s Pass for the first time, and I was excited to hear he was in the area while I was down here. I snagged him on Twitter right away and we made plans to meet up and catch up. I had, by then, been starved for the company of like-minded individuals, not just conservatives (in the South or not, my parents are still hardcore liberal Democrats) but people who understand my political obsessions and habits. Discussing why I left D.C. in the first place with him, and whether or not I think I’ll ever get back into politics… It made me ache with missing D.C. I don’t even know that I can put it to words.

However, other than the evening, other than being reminded so pointedly of what I love about Washington, I had done a very good job of Not-Missing-D.C. That is, until we woke up Sunday morning and decided to drive to the National Mall to see the Fourth.

We ended up missing the festivities there and spending the night reconnecting with my D.C. home, Petworth. Leaving this time – which we did yesterday morning to avoid traffic and get back at a reasonable hour – was so much harder than last time. There was not getting around Reacting-Emotionally and Missing-D.C. (my Mom has taken to calling it D.C.-itis); I spent last night curled up in bed, feeling miserable, and watching Family Guy as if I could ignore it all.

Today I got up and stopped wallowing. I ran errands – with the top down, allowing the sun to do a bit of vitamin D therapy – and started getting to know the neighborhood. I scheduled the first of my job hunt interviews and set up my Google Maps account to keep track of all the things in the area I seek out. I learned how to use my new GPS (courtesy of my awesome mother, of course). I’m getting the hang of things, I think. I think that’s what Limbo is… It’s the space you need while you just get the hang of this whole world called Adulthood. Grocery shopping, going to the laundromat, getting gas in the car, living with roommates, pushing aside drama, keeping yourself healthy, being there for your loved ones, letting heartache go, moving on. I’ve never been particularly good at any of this, but this is my chance to learn, right?

I’m sorry for my absence as of late, the moving, the road trips, the family, and the OCD about a new house (so much unpacking to do and the movers haven’t even arrived with the rest of the furniture yet!) have kept me from what I love. This space, writing, and all of you, of course. I’m back, with more of a Southern sweet tea flavor, true, but I’m back.