My college advisor used to tell me, "A lot can happen in two weeks." Mostly, he was referring to the fact that he was bailing on the school to take a job in Florida, and that it all happened very fast. As much as I'd like to believe that I was receptive to his observation, and generally have tried to take decisive action in life, I know that I never really took it to heart until many years later.
So here I am today, moving (only 1,000 miles this time). In this case, the time from job offer to getting in my car to move was less than three weeks. That's new territory even for me. It took almost two months to move to Seattle the first time, and about the same time to move back. Things are different. Even though we had a plan in mind, it wasn't fast enough. And while there is a job involved, this is pretty much all on our dime. There were deep discussions before hand, so I wouldn't characterize this as a hasty decision, but it did happen fast.
Change can be pretty hard. Maybe some people find it easier than I do. I got complacent in my 20's. I mean, I had a wife, a decent car and a house, and jobs that were at least paying the bills. It was hard to deviate from that, maybe because "better" didn't seem worth the effort, or it would be uncomfortable. I think the thing that shook me out of that complacency was my divorce.
I admit that I like the comfort of home. Home for too long was defined by where I was used to living, but Seattle really shook me out of that. Still, when I was sitting in my living room for the last time last night, I have to admit that there was a fair amount of panic and discomfort in the idea that I would never sit there again. Fortunately, with my intention to get an early start this morning, I didn't have any time to be sentimental about it. This happened really fast. There are still some variables to work out (like where we will live), but the rate of change is extraordinary.
The only anxiety that's harder to process is around the split from my family in the short term. I suppose it's not that big of a deal, but it will be until they arrive safely. If I can get beyond that, the change is actually something of a rush. Being open to fast change really expands your horizons even further. 2013 sure has been interesting so far!
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