Sunday Scribblings #5: Why I Live Where I Live

First, let me say that one of my favorite things about Joy's blog is that she finds all this cool stuff on the internet and saves me sooo much time! I just go there and love everything and drool and then come back all inspired. It's fabulous.

So, she's been doing this for at least a week, and I just couldn't fit it in. But now, while my husband is out in the garage digging out the scroll saw, I have a few minutes to write the story of why I moved to the place where I currently live. This prompt comes via a book called 52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity that I will definitely need to check out.

I promise this is a true story. Quite a few years ago, I lived with a wealthy Turkish man. Our life was jet-setting and fabulous and I was very spoiled. Every weekend we had a fun adventure: extravagant shopping on 5th Ave in NYC, VIP lounges at exclusive nightclubs, dinners with various political important people in DC. New cars and trips to Europe every year. Lots of wine. We lived together for five years. Though the relationship had the volatile ups and downs of your typical over-the-top passionate relationship, ultimately I realized that we had very different goals in our lives. I wanted to explore who I was and he wanted to make me who he thought I should be. I wanted to continue our exciting life and he wanted to move to Istanbul. In the condo above his parents. And build a staircase between the two condos. So his non-English-speaking and somewhat over-involved mom could come over. Everyday. To make breakfast. I thought long and hard about giving up financial security and the glam life. And then I gave my mogul an ultimatum: we begin to collaborate on how our life together should be or I will find my own way. His response: this is how I am, take it or leave it. I moved in with a girlfriend. He had a breakdown. We eventually found a way to be friends. My girlfriend got married, leaving me homeless, so I moved back in with my parents while I sorted myself out.

This is me - almost 15 years ago, on the verge of being spoiled. Wouldn't it be great if we could learn all life's tough lessons and sort ourselves out while we are still young?

My brother hooked me up with a new job, and we worked together for about a year in Philadephia. Then, he went to a conference in California and told me he was thinking about looking for a job. I told him if he moved, I would move too. Ready for a big change. When he came back from the conference, he'd found a job and announced he would be relocating in 2 weeks. What?? Ok, I took some vacation, we drove across the country together. I saw San Diego for the first time. Not bad. Went home, put my resume on the Internet, found a company willing to hire and me and relocate me, and voila, I live in San Diego.

I met the man-of-my-dreams. Now we live in the town where he grew up. We have a beautiful son. And my life is nothing at all the way I imagined it might be. It's better. And keeps getting better all the time.