Dear California...

California Coastline at Laguna Beach by kancp26

As my husband and I prepare to leave Southern California in just 2 days, only 1 day past the 6 month mark of becoming residents here, so much is going through my mind. 

SoCal has always been a part of our lives.  We vacationed here for years and eventually bought a second home in Palm Springs, CA.  Then we moved here, knowing it would be a stop along the way to somewhere else- but not realizing the stop was only going to be short one.

So as we move on, I will bid California farewell with this:

Dear California,
You are beautiful.  It is true.  Your beauty is varied and seemingly endless. 
You are warm and bright.  Your skies are bluer than I could have ever imagined.  
There is just so much to do here.  I now understand why Mark Twain said he wondered how anyone in California could ever die because everyone is so healthy here.
Your attitude is laid back and your people are more excited to greet the weekend or a holiday than anyone else I have ever met.  I am still so surprised to be told  'Happy Weekend' starting on a Thursday!

However, my dear California, I have also learned some truths about you.  You are crowded beyond belief.  Your traffic and costs are out of this world.  Its not fun to try to get to do all the wonderful stuff you have to offer when it's nearly impossible to get to those activities.  It feels like there ought to be another form of currency here so normal people can do such exotic things as buy a house or retire.  And California, your limits on freedom are certainly not for me.  It seems that your people are fine and good with tiny loud places to live and paychecks spread ultra thin while more and more rules drop into their lives via the government.
Oh California, how I wish I could keep your warm sun and live at the beach one day.  How I know that this experience of 6 short months will forever change how I look at life.  I will remember and relish the feeling of knowing that I can make it in a new home.   I will appreciate the fact that there is no perfect place and that everyone must find what works for them.  California, you didn't work for us.  We will visit you and we won't wonder 'what if'.  We are moving on.

Don't Fear The Hurt

As our plans to get to Southern California have heated up this Spring, I have noticed that I have been subconsciously holding back in other areas of my life.  Specifically, with certain friends who I guess I have deemed as being 'too fragile' to handle hanging out and having fun with me just as I am truly planning to leave.
One friend mentioned to me that she understands just how difficult it is to manage deep attachments while simultaneously letting go.  She hit the nail on the head.

Hammer And Nails by mrpuen, found at: freedigitalphotos.net

I have lived in this area of the country my entire life.  I have some friends whom I have known since before I started school.  These are actually the friends that I have had the least trouble with remaining close to, even as I go through the process of moving away.  I think I've known that we've been through enough as lifelong friends to know that we will make it in keeping contact, even when I am far away.  It seems to be the newer friends- the good neighbors, the friends I've only had for a few years that have been the sticking point for me.  I have been avoiding them and keeping my distance.
I've realized that I have been holding back because I think I've felt that it's wrong to get close to people that you don't have that much history with and then just pick up and leave them behind.  I've also realized that I'm being hurtful by suddenly pulling back my attention and time, just to supposedly keep these people from being hurt.
Being afraid of hurting people has led me to be hurtful- even though I never meant to be.
Sometimes it's just tough to do the right thing.  And sometimes people get hurt.  But I've come to see that spending time laughing, playing cards and making memories is not wrong.

Playing Cards by foto76 found at: freedigitalphotos.net

People deserve whatever you've got to give them, for however long you can.  And I can't know if those connections are going to last beyond 1,200 miles or if they will simply be pleasant experiences for today.  And that's OK.

What If Wednesday, The Quick Move Edition

As I am knee deep in the very last hours of helping my longtime client/friend with her impending move to Hawaii (she leaves at o' dark thirty tomorrow morning), I certainly have moving on the brain.
So my 'what if' for today shall reflect that and a little bit of my own fastest ever move back when I was a kid.

Today's question:  What if you had to move out of your house in 3 hours?  What would you take with you?  What would you leave behind?  How would the time crunch affect your choices?

My inspiration for today's question is obviously all about moving and how that's been on my mind for like, oh forever now.  And watching my friend get to her big dream of moving to Hawaii has been super crazy and fun.  Moving over water is quite different from a land move!  Oh, the choices that must be made!  The craziness of it all reminds me of the time when I was 4 and we moved out of a rental house in 3 hours flat.  It was a small house and we were in trouble!  Many friends helped us out.  But the thing I remember most about that move is that it was such a wonder that it never felt like we had left anything really important behind.

So tell me all about your moving experiences- real or imagined!  What 'moves' you in deciding what stays or goes when you have to/decide to move?

Abstract Motion, Blurred Meadow stock photo found at freedigitalphotos.net