Homecoming

I have news. It's half good, half sad - depending on who's reading. It has been in the works for a few months now, but I finally got everything signed this week and I'm excited to announce that I was approved to become a virtual employee. This means that I'll still work for the same office I work for now in DC, but I'll get to do it remotely from another location, specifically my training facility, the VA Hospital in Salem. I will officially be moving back to Roanoke in about 3 weeks, almost a full year from when I moved to DC initially.

I am mostly happy about this opportunity. I like the work I'm doing in DC, but there's nothing really that I do that I HAVE to be in DC to do. I haven't fully loved living in Northern Virginia, mostly because of the expense and the commute, so to be able to continue doing my job from a much more affordable location is really the best of both worlds, on most fronts. With all the new duties I'm taking at work but not being able to get my position upgraded, I think that this arrangement is a good compromise. Being a virtual employee means an extra level of responsibility with less supervision and the opportunity to shift the focus of what I do and come at it from a different perspective. It's really the best way that I can see to move up in my position, without actually getting a promotion.

I'm also excited because being located in the hospital again will mean that I'll be able to interact with volunteers and Veterans, which was one of my favorite parts of the job while I was an intern and I've missed it being stuck in a cubicle buried in data all day, every day. Voluntary Service is all about those relationships and being removed from that aspect makes it easy to lose focus on why we do what we do and what our mission is - helping Veterans. The volunteers and Veterans are more than just the numbers that I track on numerous spreadsheets that I send to numerous names in databases. The real human connection part of our service is one thing I'm looking most forward to in coming back to the hospital. I'll get to be involved in a lot of the special events and head up some special projects from a field level and see them implemented first hand instead of trying to figure out everything via phone and email.

The extra money that I'll save living in SW Virginia and a much, much shorter commute will mean more time and money I can devote to training, eating better quality foods, sleeping more, recovering better. I started off the year in DC guns blazing, but over the last several months I've lost focus and it's been harder and harder to devote my everything to working on my goals. The added stress from the whole work/money/commute hasn't really helped. I look forward to being able to train unlimited at Brickhouse again and take advantage of living in town, possibly getting a bike, and being more active and involved in my community. Even though I wasn't born there, the Roanoke Valley is my home. Before I moved to DC I lived in SW Virginia for 20 years. I miss the small town feel and running into people you know from when you were younger and being around my relatives.

My coaches Quinn and Hank finishing Murph with me.
Photo by Mike LaPierre

The sad part is that not everything about DC was completely terrible and there will be things I'll miss. Just the fact that I got to live and work in our Nation's capital for a year is really pretty cool. I think the view of the monuments as you drive into the city on 395 is spectacular. Walking by the White House every day or by the Nationals stadium on the way to the gym. Just working in a city that people from all over the world come to visit, as annoying as tourists can be, is a rare opportunity. Even in the short time that I've been here it can be easy to take for granted how special it is to be a part of a city with so much history.

Obviously what I'll miss the most is my DCF family. When I signed up for my test out at District CrossFit with Josh, just about 11 months ago, I didn't expect to make friends or to be accepted. Much like when I started at Brickhouse I was nervous and tentative and intimidated. I also went into the situation with a bias and was reluctant to let people in. I didn't think I would find people again who would care about me. I was very wrong. From the first time I got to hear Quinn cheering me on through a tough kettle bell WOD I knew that District would be a place I could call home. It took a while, but I started to feel that Team DCF was embracing me as one of their own and supported me, even when I was just on fringe, holding down my platform. I know I may have isolated myself and I wasn't always in the group classes this year, but now as I get ready to move on I realize what a great


AM Girls vs PM Girls Tug of War
Photo by Mike LaPierre

group of people I'm leaving behind. The last year was pretty tough for me and it's probably no secret that I've wanted to leave pretty much every second since I got here. It's been a struggle but I feel like it was a good experience for me to have. I owe so much to my team at District CrossFit. If I didn't have DCF I would have been lost this year. I'm going to miss our epic barbeques and getting to know everyone outside of working out and the big events we had like the AM/PM Class Warfare, Battle for the Capital, and Murph. The AM Girls vs. PM Girls Tug of War is easily my favorite memory from DCF.

Hope on the National Mall
Photo by Mike LaPierre

I will miss being a part of the huge DC/Northern Virginia CrossFit community, making friends at other boxes around the area and seeing them at competitions, and participating in events like Hope on the National Mall. Being in DC gave me the opportunity to work with Cara at CH Fitness and Performance and I am a much better weightlifter because of the time I got to spend with her and our Monday night small group. Working with Cara gave me the opportunity and confidence to compete in Olympic Weightlifting and I've made great friends in that community as well. I hope that I am able to stay in touch with everyone and that when I have to come back to DC for work I'll be able to visit. I know I'll get to see people at competitions around the state and hopefully see some of them at Regionals next year.

The next few weeks are going to be really hectic as I get everything  packed and try to find a place to live in Roanoke, but I plan to make the most of the time I have left and get as many hugs and high fives as I can from my team at DCF. When I knew I had to leave Roanoke I didn't expect to be as sad as I was and I didn't think getting to move back to Roanoke would also make me sad. I didn't expect to get attached to my team, but such is the nature of CrossFit. What we do binds us together - it's impossible to not form lasting relationships with the people you train with every day and we'll always share that bond.

Change can be many things - exciting, scary, sad, frustrating...the mix of conflicting emotions is what makes change so difficult. I think this last year has covered the entire spectrum and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead. As my sister would say "I have a lot of feels."