Since I started writing this blog, I have shared some pretty
major stuff with ya’ll: nervous breakdowns, graduations, kidney transplants,
book releases, job changes.
Now I have another one to share with you: Patrick has been
offered a job in Destin, FL, which he’s accepted.
We are leaving Kansas City the weekend of May 14. This is
quite a game changer for us-- we’ve never lived anywhere outside our beloved
little corner of flyover country. When I was a kid, I always dreamt of
traveling, of settling down someplace exotic. (I don’t know if Destin qualifies
for everyone, but it’s definitely exotic to me.) When I graduated from high
school, I watched as friends went off and got to experience exciting new cities
while I stayed behind, wrestling with health stuff and life stuff.
I’ve continued to wrestle with these things, even up to this
day. But Patrick and I are as healthy as we can possibly be at the moment. This
is our chance, and we’re taking it.
A clean slate-- quite literally. It’s so expensive to move
everything, we are only taking what we can fit in our two cars.
(Mainly: clothes, cats, computers, and some cooking utensils.) Everything else,
we’ve either sold or donated.
So a grand adventure awaits us on the Gulf Coast: new jobs,
new friends, and new opportunities. I’m both nervous and excited.
As for writing-- for those of you so patiently awaiting the
completion of the O4S series, Coyote and I will continue our Friday night jam
sessions via Skype. Coyote and I been friends for 11 years now, writing
together for 9. All those major life events I mentioned above? We’ve managed to
weather those together. I think we can handle this one. I’m also hoping the new
challenges and the change of scenery will help jog my creative juices. I’ve
been in a bit of a rut for almost two years. So we’ll see what happens.
Here’s to seizing the day! If such opportunities ever come
your way, I hope you seize them too.
I've lived in the same county my whole life. It would take a lot of courage to leave. I hope your move to the Gulf Coast will be the beginning of something very wonderful for you. Carpe Diem!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Carpe Diem is definitely the goal. It is a very scary thing, but all good adventures are.
DeleteWelcome to Florida Lauren! I hope you enjoy living here as much as I do! Three years ago I was in a similar situation. I thought I would be living all my life in the same town in South Carolina where I was born. Then a layoff happened during a time when jobs that paid adequately were scarce. It was scary but my husband found a job in Ocala (Central Floria) where we have been living ever since. It's beautiful and it has definitely inspired me creativity. You are lucky to be moving to the Gulf Coast. For swimming I definitely prefer it to the Atlantic. Very exciting!
ReplyDeleteBy the way I read one of your flash fiction stories and really enjoyed it. I can't remember the title but it was a kind of slice of life story and you had a strong emotional punch at the end. I was very impressed! It's hard to create a strong emotion in a flash fiction story. I want to read some of your other stories when I get time.
Thanks so much for all the retweets of my book links and blog! Good luck moving your cats to a different state. My cat was less than thrilled about the long car ride. Hope your cats are less averse to road trips. Looking forward to hearing more about your Florida experience. Good luck!:-)
Hey, Lisa! Great to see you here on my blog, and thanks for the welcome. We are here in Florida and getting settled into our new place. We've already hit the beach once, and yes, it's beautiful. It still hasn't really sunk in yet that this is our new home-- we've always been inlanders. Before, the closest beach was 14 hours away. We keep expecting to have to hop a plane and go home.
ReplyDeleteNo, our cats did not have a good time with the two-day car ride down here, but they seemed to enjoy the motel rooms quite a lot. Now that we're here, though, they're adjusting. I expect that Lucy, our mighty reptile hunter, will really enjoy the abundance of lizards here-- plenty of game for her to stalk!
The flash fic piece was probably "Phone Numbers & Addresses," one of my more popular ones. You can find it here:
http://laurenscharhag.blogspot.com/2013/02/short-story-phone-numbers-and-addresses.html
You're very welcome for the RTs-- always happy to help a fellow author.
We'll be in touch, I'm sure. :)