“Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it is life’s undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room.” ~Harriet Beecher Stowe
A few weeks ago I found myself going back and forth with my friend Allison as to how wonderful life in Salt Lake City would be for me. The only caveat she said is that she was unsure of the (strict) drinking laws in the city and perhaps I should find a non-Mormon to assist in that regard. So I added Salt Lake to the list of “Hey…I could live here”.
Most people daydream about a relaxing vacation, I daydream of a place in this vast country of ours where I could put down some roots. It’s a list that grows each day depending on my mood. My therapist recently noted how wistfully I speak of DC and that she doesn’t hear that same tone when it comes to Albany and I had to remind her that a) This is Albany for Christ’s sake and b) I wouldn’t live in DC unless of course I won the lottery or made it big as a Democratic Consultant. I will get into the Albany v. DC thing at a later date but the point is that as of right now DC is not on that list. Several friends of mine and perspective job sites just collectively sobbed. I love DC with a fierceness but my gut tells me that it most likely isn’t in the cards.
Denver is there. Along with Boulder. I regularly contemplate Austin but recently reneged on that possibility because I don’t hate snow. That statement will come back to bite me in the ass some day – probably on a very frigid day in January where I find my nipples permanently erect and frostbite on my toes – but no, it doesn’t bother me in the way it should and could.
I see myself in a capital city since the only thing I’m really qualified to do is work in politics. Though some might say that I’m barely qualified for that. I could live on Martha’s Vineyard full time. That creeps in when I find myself alone walking up Circuit Avenue without the July and August hustle and bustle. But then I find myself stumped worrying that I haven’t been to enough places, seen enough, absorbed enough to make a “Forever” decision.
Perhaps I’ll marry someone who enjoys a life on the road. I’ll telecommute and home-school and spend summers in Montana. Who knows. The good thing is that the older I get the easier I find that I am able to go with it…absorb the ‘whatever happens, happens’ mentality. I just want to be near water, mountains, I want a yard.
Or perhaps I’ll just spin the globe and wherever my finger lands that is where I, too, shall land. Yes. That will work just fine.
This same topic was discussed on Curvy Girls Guide today and I wanted to bring it over here. Where do you live? Do you see yourself living there forever? If money were no object where would you call home?
The Five
“Maybe all one can do is hope to end up with the right regrets.” ~Arthur Miller
From Twitter this morning:
@Chookooloonks: 5 best decisions of my adult life so far: go to law school, move to London, marry @marzjennings, adopt Alex, quit law. What are your 5 best?
My response:
1. Moving to Washington
2. Leaving Washington
3. Dating whoever the hell I want
4. Starting No Pasa Nada
5. Living alone
Some of these decisions just happened by accident, living alone for example, others required pro/con lists, hand-wringing with a dollop of anxiety but when it comes down to it, hindsight always presents perfection. Decisions that were difficult turned out to be the best ever. The things I have done in my adult life – all of them and however short my adult life has been – have lead to one good thing after another. Even with those bad days where it seems like I have done everything wrong, they’re just little bumps reminding me to move forward. I can hardly remember the bad when thinking of what I did right. It’s true that every little thing will be alright. Inevitably. Eventually.
So now I ask you, what are the five best decisions of your adult life?
Schmutizie’s response is here: http://www.schmutzie.com/weblog/2011/9/28/the-five-best-decisions-of-my-life.html