Right now, I don't feel like I have much support. Covid-19 has all my doctors working overtime to keep critically sick patients alive, since covid-19 is primarily a respiratory and cardiovascular disease. That means, when it comes to staying physically well, I'm more or less on my own for God-knows-how-long, since my conditions are primarily respiratory and cardiovascular. When it comes to my mental health, I'm staying alive but I can tell my anxiety medication hasn't been working as well as it used to. Due to current events, every psychiatrist is booked up for months, so I can't do much about that. Turns out, when the economy goes to shit and close to 200,000 Americans die due to a viral disease, lots more people need to get on some medication to make it through. So, I'm just gonna have to tough it out with my current prescription.

Before I knew I'd be moving to Washington, I was afraid of being stuck at home in Colorado with just my little household with almost nothing to do. I never was worried I'd get suicidal or anything nearly as dramatic as that. But, I didn't want to have to suffer alone with nothing to do to keep myself from getting terribly depressed and anxious. Now that we're moving to Washington very soon, my anxiety has certainly gotten worse. But, the anxiety I've been feeling hasn't come entirely from a negative place. I don't know how to explain it. I think I'm excited more than anything. I'll have plenty to do in Washington that will be new and exciting to me. Sure, I'll be homesick, I'll miss my loved ones, and I'll have my bad days. But, given everything I've typed down so far, as well as things I haven't typed down yet, I don't think my life will suck as much in Washington as it might in Colorado during the remainder of the pandemic. 

I'm struggling to find the words to express what I'm really trying to explain. But, I think you get the point. My social life in Washington during the pandemic will be just like the social life I'd have if I stayed home: virtually nonexistent. I won't be able to see my friends and family in-person over this fall and winter, even if I did stay in Colorado. If I stayed in Colorado, I'd just sit inside all day, playing World of Warcraft and watching documentaries on TV while my dogs sat on my lap. I'd go hiking sometimes, but it'll probably be too cold for me to walk during a lot of the winter. Plus, as pretty as the trails in Ken Caryl Valley are, they will get old sooner than later. And, I won't be able to fish because the ponds and lakes will be frozen over. 

In Washington, I'll still spend many hours a day playing WoW and Skyping with friends and family. But, the fall and winter weather will be much more mild in Washington. It will rain often, but it might not snow all year. It probably won't even freeze until late at night, only to thaw out in the mornings again, even in January and February. If I wanted to throw a few snowballs at Jack, we wouldn't have to drive far. Olympic National Forest will only be an hour or so away. But, I'll never have to shovel in the middle of a blizzard again! All of this means I'll be able to fish from the Puget Sound as much as I want, whenever I want! Hell, I'll even be able to swim in the sound in the middle of winter, so long as I get the right wetsuit (which I probably will). 

To me, moving to Washington no longer sounds like a bad idea. If anything, I think staying in Colorado's a worse idea than moving to Washington, just given everything I've typed down so far.

Perhaps, I’m being a little too optimistic. But, I really don’t think so. I have a strong gut feeling that Washington's the right place to go to. I haven't felt this sure about a decision since I learned that I could finish high school online. It's uncanny, but in a good way.