Loose change

Anyone who knows my husband Dan, knows he's a man with a plan. For years now his plan has been to move south, specifically to New Orleans. He's convinced that his soul was switched before birth and that there is some guy, trapped in Louisiana, who thinks ice fishing is a good idea. All along I've nodded and smiled and said OK, sounds good, some day. But in my heart of hearts I have not been interested or motivated to move.

I fundamentally agree with Dan that there is no compelling argument to live in Wisconsin forever. My biggest reason for staying has left town. Our two boys have graduated college and are slowly moving to the coasts. Carl, a musician, lives in Philadelphia and seeks jobs playing his bass in New York. Hunter, an actor, lives in Chicago and has his sights set on Los Angeles. No matter what, they will live a plane ticket away. And yet, I'm not ready to do it, commit to the big move. 

But wait, I did say Dan's plan is New Orleans, and this blog is about moving to the Keys! Yes. There has been a location change in the plan. I'm a beach girl, I like to scuba dive and I don’t like cold water. So move south? Maybe, but New Orleans...no. We needed to compromise, and in our 30+ years of marriage we’ve learned how to do that. So, three trips to Key West and Dan is sold. He now understands why, if we are going to move, I need quick access to a warm ocean!

So that’s it, right?  Put it on the calendar and go.  Not so easy for me, which brings me to the title of this post, “loose change”.

We just returned from a vacation in Key West.  Dan, excited about the idea of moving, needed to ACT.  He proceeded to find all the loose pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters in various containers about the house.  He pooled all the coins and took them to the bank, making a $123.00 deposit.  “Paula, we need to pay down that bill, so mail it in.”  And that’s it, he’s off and running – next stop, Key West.

For me, it’s not so easy.  I've determined my inertia comes from other places that I need to explore. Extended family, a multitude of friends, community and neighborhood, a great job, a house I love and a feeling of stability I'm afraid to uproot.  Dan’s personal self-confidence in maintaining the important connections, regardless of location, has not rubbed off on me. This blog is my attempt to gather up the loose change in my life, figure out what I’ve got and turn it into a plan. Those of you who know me, know that once I've made a commitment, I'm all in. The question for me is, what will it take to get there?

I expect this will be part stroll down memory lane, part self-awareness exercise, and part check-list, as I push past invisible and real barriers.  Probably not the most interesting topic in the world, but I’ll try to keep it fun. I’ve read enough blogs to know the best ones allow the writer to talk about what is important to them. And, in my opinion, the best blogs are not so much prolific as they are pertinent to the author, in that moment. If you choose to read more, thank you.  If not, that’s OK too. For me, this is all about the journey. It will be fun for me to see where it ends…