Living in the land of milk and honey

A year ago this week, my kids and I, along with our two cats, rolled into California after a 5 day drive across the country to start our new life here. Up until then my entire life was spent living in various place in New England, mostly small towns, so moving to California was a big, BIG deal.

I had visited California a couple of times as a kid to visit a family friend and fell in love with San Francisco. Growing up I always vowed I’d live here . Funny how life circumstances and chance made it all happen in the end.

I’ve talked to people here who are envious of my New England roots, wishing they could move there, and I can never understand why. The only thing New England has on California, in my opinion, is a lower cost of living. Sure, it’s a beautiful place, but so is California. In one year here I have seen more wildlife than I’d see in ten years in New England. Deer, raccoons, turkeys and fox are regular sights near my house here. In New England I saw a lot of turkeys, but everything else was a rare thing to see. Maybe the dismal weather kept them hidden in their dens, just like the people there huddle in their houses. New England is cold and snowy from October to April, rainy through April, May and sometimes June, a mixed bag in July and August. September and October are lovely with the leaves changing color, but it's difficult to enjoy knowing that snow and ice are right around the corner.

This past winter in California was the first in my life where I didn’t have to shovel, wear winter parkas or pay thousands in heating oil bills only to still feel cold.

The flowers here are in constant bloom.

California makes me want to lead a healthier lifestyle. I want to be outside, enjoying the sunshine instead of stuck in the house wondering if I’ll ever see the end of gray skies.

The shopping here is stellar. Aside from Boston, there is really no good shopping in most of New England. I lived an hour from a crappy mall there. Boston was a two hour drive.

There is no reason to be bored here. I’m 25 minutes from San Francisco, an hour from San Jose and 30 minutes to Napa. Beaches are a little more than an hour. I have mountain, city and ocean all close by. New England is the same, however here in California there are interesting towns in between. Little pockets of culture and uniqueness to discover. New England just isn’t like that. You have your ‘quaint’ little towns, but they are all pretty much the same. Drive through Vermont or New Hampshire sometime and you’ll know what I mean. It’s not without it’s gems, but much of New England is really pretty ordinary and blah.

What I’m trying to say is that I’m thrilled I made the decision to embark on such a bold, life-changing experience to live in California. What’s life without a little adventure, right? I love it here.

Someone’s looking out for me

I am not a particularly spiritual person but there have been plenty of little moments as well as big events in my life when I’ve said to myself “Whoa, someone’s really looking out for me up there.”  Let’s see, there was the first house that I bought.  The moment I saw it I absolutely KNEW it was to be mine, and sure enough it all fell into place in a matter of days and it was ours soon after.  There have been times when I’ve been scrambling for daycare solutions– all you working mommas know how harrowing an experience that can be – when all of a sudden a perfect situation has presented itself.  Always at a time when I have almost convinced myself that it is perfectly acceptable for a four year old to stay home alone while I work.  Then there was the head-on car crash that I walked away from virtually unscathed while the man who hit me unfortunately lost his life.  Someone was really looking out for me that day.

This week I had another moment that made me believe that there may indeed be divine forces pulling for me.  As I’ve previously written, my job situation is fragile at the moment.   I’ve been able to escape the downsizing and significant pay cuts that my colleagues have endured so far, but the situation of the company is not getting any better.  I’ve been struggling a lot with what I should do.  I have to work – no question – but there are few jobs out there, especially ones that will allow me to get my kids to/from school.  After school care is an option, but adds to my monthly costs.  Can I afford to try out a new job?  Can I afford NOT to?

It’s been really weighing on me the last few weeks and I’d finally resigned myself to sticking with my current job as long as I can.  Then yesterday, my cell phone rang and it was the CEO of a company where I’d worked for seven years.  The new company he’s heading up has an anticipated job opening, in California, a work from home position and, wait for it….the company is doing pretty well despite the economy.  Am I interested in applying?  FUCK YEAH!!!

It was just another moment in my life where I’ve wondered why me – why am I so fortunate to have these moments.  Maybe it’s Karma, or maybe there really is someone up there looking out for me. 

I have a long way to go with this one.  Wish me luck in my interviews!

The summer of Carolyn comes to a close

In June I flew my kids back east to spend a summer with their dad.  Now, in two weeks I return to pick them up.  Where the hell did this summer go exactly? 

This stretch of seven or so weeks is the longest that I have ever been apart from them.  I was really worried even months before the start of summer about how they would cope and how I would cope.  To the point that I was losing sleep over the whole thing. Would they be okay?  Would I have to fly back and get them early?  At the same time I was worrying, I was also sort of excited for the break.

At it turns out, they’ve had a great summer and so have I.  It’s amazing how quickly I was able to slip into a new, grown-up-centric routine.  I’m excited to have them home.  To see their faces, hear about their summer, see how much they’ve grown and spoil them a little.  But I will miss my freedoms that come with ‘visits to dad’.  Living on opposite side of the country has not been easy on any of us.

Once they’re home, I will miss, in no particular order:

Twice a day gym workouts, dates with my boyfriend, reduced grocery bill, less laundry each week, not having school runs, the sounds of silence vs. listening to them fight, going to the movies and seeing grown-up films, cooking one meal instead of an adult-friendly one and a kid-friendly one, road trips without whining from the back of the car, and I’m sure a lot more that I can’t think of right now.

Despite all of the above, I can’t wait to have them home so I can be a mom again :)