I’ve gotten this question quite a few times, so I realize I probably haven’t told you enough details. Let the interview begin.

Are you on vacation?

No.

Are you on sabbatical?

Nope. Laughable. People who work really hard and are highly stressed in their jobs get a sabbatical. I try not to do either of those things.

Are you moving to Scotland?

Stay outta my biz-nass.

No seriously. Are you?

Honestly, I don’t know.

So, why are you in Scotland?

I am here staying with some missionary friends, Tom and Leigh Ann Fraley. They moved here about two weeks before I moved to Nashville (in 2008). Living in Scotland has been a beat of my heart since May 16, 2000, when I landed here the very first time. It felt like home. So Tom and Leigh Ann and I have spoke multiple times over the last 2.5 years about what it would look like if I ever came here for a L O N G E R period of time (whereas before I was on trips for 2 weeks max).

But there is this kink in the plan. That kink is called I LOVE NASHVILLE. I never planned to love Nashville. But I love it. It feels like home. And now I don’t want to leave.

Uh. Oh. We’ve got a problem on our hands, don’t we?

Exactly, Imaginary Interviewer. Three cities (Marietta, Nashville, Edinburgh) that all fight for my heart and my attentions and my address.

[Just like the fellas. I mean, sorta. Okay, not really. But a girl can dream?]

So what are you doing in Scotland?

So I’m just here for a month, in the winter [which I have never seen before- I’ve only come in past summers], to see what I think and to have fresh ears to hear God. I’m joining a gym, I’m going to meetings and services with the Fraleys, and serving their ministry as best I know how. I’m hanging with some folks I know from the last few summers. I’m attempting to make new friends, I’m still writing and working and enjoying the gorgeous view. I’m trying to really “live” here.

So in simplest terms, I picked up my life [minus my friends] and moved it, kit and kaboodle, to Edinburgh for a period of one month.

So do you have to make a BIG. LIFE. DECISION. at the end of this month?

I’m not feeling pressured to make BIG. LIFE. DECISIONS. I’m not. And I may leave here in February and just scooty-poots right on back to Nashville, hug my friends, and pick up where I left off. And in fact, unless God stamps something else on my heart, that is exactly what I am doing.

It’s about listening to God.

It’s about being brave.

It’s about taking one more step towards a dream that has lived in me for a solid decade.

It’s about trying something on for size, not really sure when you will wear it.

It’s also about loving this place. I want to be here because I love it.

So that’s why I’m in Scotland.

Thanks. I was wondering why you thought you deserved a sabbatical.

Rude.