2 1/2 YEARS AGO...
I took a road trip to Arizona with the family to visit our in laws. This was our conversation on the drive (looooong drive) back home:
Hubby: That was a fun trip.
Me: Yeah, let's move there!
Hubby: Ummmm....
Me: For reals! Let's move!
Hubby: We already have a house.
Me: But it's in CA. And CA is so ugh!
Let me just interrupt this fascinating conversation here for a minute and say that I've lived in California my entire life. Every street I'd drive down, every city I cross into, I can tell you how I worked here or use to live there...memories of school, past roommates, unpleasant experiences, and so on. Needless to say, I was ready for a change but didn't realize it until I actually left the state and saw the difference.
Well, what were the differences?
1. Price. Everything was cheaper than CA. (What? CA is expensive? No way!)
2. Clean. Yes, everything looked clean. Well taken care of. Like the highways and the landscapes and roads. I'm sure there are rough areas just like anywhere else, but this is based on the areas we were driving through or visiting.
3. Friendly People. Okay, so this one was strange for us. Strangers would wave at us and we were those people who looked behind us because we were sure it wasn't us they were waving at. Wrong! Strangers would say "hello," and although our first instinct was to run because they were either going to ask us for money or kill us (just joking on that last one! Well, kinda. Have you seen some of those 'hoods in CA?)
4. Vibe. This is something my husband argues with me about. Instead of a city and traffic and crowds, we were surrounded by not just dirt, but beautiful mountains and cacti and amazing landscapes and beautiful sunsets. Some areas are rural. And for the most part, I felt peace and happiness.
Back to that car convo...
Hubby: I have a really good job. We have stable income. Our house and cars are paid off. We are debt free. And you want to move?
Me: Omg yes! I get such a great vibe there! (plus, i'm a writer so I can write from anywhere).
Hubby: We can't move based on a "vibe" or feeling.
Me: Why not?
You can probably tell how hubby is the responsible one. The one who's good with finances, blah blah blah. But I am the doer in the relationship. While he can talk about doing something all day but never actually do it, I like to just...well, do it. Why not? We only live once, right? So it was in that moment that I realized what I had to do.
I had to convince my husband to quit his job, sell our house, and uproot our entire family and move to another state. Oh, and take my mom with us too.
After all, how hard could that be?
To be continued...