January, 2025:
in spring of 2000, we suddenly had the completely unexpected opportunity to move to southern California. We jumped on it. It was a life-long dream, and I was ready to go.
We spent early 2000 preparing to move, listed the house in Florida, and within six weeks we had purchased a house in southern California over the internet, someone had purchased *our* Florida house over the internet from us, and we left Marco Island for good. (For those curious- my parents are still there.)
It’s been extraordinary, to say the least. I feel like I got my life back. I know that sounds like hyperbole, but it’s actually an understatement. I feel like someone hit the “pause” button on me the day I moved to Florida after graduate school and then set me back in motion the moment I stepped off the plane in California.
The first year here was all about getting settled and being delighted by everything, even in lockdown from C0v1d, finding magic in the seasons and all the wildlife that passes through our tiny postage-stamp suburban yard. At any given moment, there’s more birds, squirrels, ducks, rabbits, and other little creatures in our yard than I think I saw in my entire time living in Southwest Florida, which is saying a lot.
Life has changed so much. I still feel like I have moved to a new planet and I’m learning how to live again without all the crushing extended family obligations and anxiety of the things I dealt with in Florida.
I’m no longer sharing my life online at all- I’m deeply wary of influencer-led social media and the way it has shaped our world. While I don’t think what I’ve ever said had much influence, I am wary of adding my voice to the noise. I’ve totally abandoned social media and am living offline for the most part. But I miss connection.
Also, Grace is going to turn 20 this year (!!), and while I never blogged a lot about her life, now that she is really an adult, I definitely feel like I need to respect her 100000%, and even the smallest details- her major in college, her life, her interests, her career plans, etc.- belong to her and her alone. I will say this: her dream school ended up being ten minutes from our house, so that was a lovely serendipity.
I’m still around, though, so if you’d like to just say “hello”, you can contact me via email or by this form. (heads up- if you sent a message previously, chances are I did not get it… spam protection was pretty much blocking everything.)
If you come upon this, I hope you are truly truly well.
“This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein…” – Paul Simon