Big Life Decisions
Gretchen Rubin once asked, “Are you a ‘book’ person or a ‘tree’ person?” In other words, do you see your life as a book of chapters, where you turn the pages? Or do you see yourself more like a tree that’s rooted in one place, growing rings from a center? I’m definitely a “book” person. My life has been a series of chapters- I grew up in Illinois, then lived in Florida for a few years, moved to New York City, worked as a musician for many years (traveling between NYC and Europe) and then finally “settled down” back in Florida, where my husband likes to joke I joined the witness protection program. I relocated, changed my career, and changed my name (when we got married). This chapter of my life has been AMAZING! I had my kids! I escaped from my Seasonal Affective Disorder and flourished in sunny Florida! I learned a completely new trade! And now… I’m thinking it’s just about time for a new chapter. My daughter will graduate from high school in two years, and we’ll be empty nest-ers. When both our kids are out of the house, there really won’t be anything to keep us here. We don’t have any family in Florida, and just a few friends. And, the friends we do have are making five year plans to escape Florida. A five-year timeframe is probably what we’re looking at as well. Where will we move? Guess what- this is where YOU, dear readers, come in! I’m open to suggestions. I’ll tell you what I’m looking for. I want to live somewhere with lots of natural beauty, with trails to hike and run. I would like it to be colder than Florida, but not TOO cold- I know I can’t live in the midwest, for example. We would be looking for a place with a lower cost of living (I mean- almost anything is lower than South Florida!) so, for example, places like Northern California or Boulder, CO are not feasible. On the other hand, we would like a little bit of culture- maybe near a college, maybe a town with an indie bookstore, things like that- in other words, I don’t want to live in the middle of Alabama. We’re not in a rush, but we’re talking about taking some exploratory trips, possibly next summer, to check out possibilities. Any suggestions would be welcome! On another, less life-changing subject, we’re thinking of getting a third cat. Our older cat, Charlotte, has gotten SO CRANKY and refuses to have anything to do with Muffin (our younger, more sociable calico). Charlotte has gone so far as to relocate herself out to the patio, and Muffin seems really sad! The worst thing is, she has taken to meowing, sadly AND LOUDLY in the middle of the night, and it’s really disrupting our sleep. When we googled possible solutions, one of them was “get a second cat.” What do you think??? Should I move to North Carolina? get another cat? Tell me what to do!