“Why?”

“I’m moving to California.”  Saying that to someone for the first time is very weird. Planning to do something is one thing, telling people what you’re doing seals your fate in concrete.

I loved planting the seed in my friends and waiting for the reactions to grow… “What? You’re moving to Cali?!”  “No, way! Congrats.” Then usually: “I am sooo coming to visit!”  Or my favorite: “That’s where you belong!” - Yes, I agree.

The worst response is “Why?”

I would always grapple with an answer and invariably change the subject to some random event I will be missing after my departure.

Example:

“Why do you want to move?” asks friend.

“Uh, because well, you know…Oh dang! I will be missing going to that (enter event here) since I’ll be gone. You have to tell me all about it!” This was always a fantastic deflection because the other person completely forgets their initial “why” question.

But I never did. “Why am I dropping everything and moving?”

Every answer seemed inadequate- “because I want an adventure!” Lame.

“I’ve always wanted to move to CA.” So, why now?

“Because I’m tired of Florida.”  No way. Let’s be honest, I love that state.

So what’s the answer? The past few weeks have left me plenty of time to reflect. Turns out; that “treading-water” feeling creeping up inside of me was actually the opportunity to take life by the horns slipping away. Pretty soon I was going to be making some serious commitments to people (relationships, mortgages, job responsibilities, etc) that were not going to allow me to pick up and leave. My subconscious was screaming at the top of its lungs.

I could feel my freedom slipping, the option to do whatever I wanted fading out of my life. The tide was rising and my anchor became heavier by the minute. Thus, it was time to move on.