The Next Chapter Of This Life

In early July, I moved across the country with three kids, two cats and two fish. It took us four days to travel the 2100 miles from central California to Tennessee, and I have a grey hair to prove each and every single mile.

In all honesty, the actual move was not as trying as preparing to move.

We downsized our lives from 4000 square feet of living space to all that could be contained in a 28-foot moving trailer. The last six months of my life were spent hosting yard sales, selling off small appliances, childrens clothes and the extras we accumulated during our 22-year adventure in California. I met neighbors I never knew, just in time to move...

The past six months were also spent closing down our business. For 19 years, we made the best fine art photographic prints in the country. It’s ironic to have a struggling business, while also having a show we printed hanging in The Smithsonian. After our best year ever in 2015, we found ourselves struggling through 2016, then plummeting in 2017. We were reasonably good at managing a growing business...but bad at downsizing. It was painful, tiring and awful to experience the slow and steady death of our business. To say the least.

But now...

New life.

I now live in Tennessee, but keep meeting Californians everywhere I go. Some moved to be near family, but most moved for the growing economy and the cheaper cost of living. Some moved for the change of scenery. Indeed, it’s a different kind of beautiful here. The hills are lush and green. The forests are thick with foliage. The air is heavy with humidity, which makes my achy joints relax. Yes, I can begin to relax...

All those dreams I shelved when we launched our business 19 years ago are beginning to rustle in my brain, reminding me of who I am at the base of me.

Deep in my soul, I feel this song of Hope...and it brought me to Tennessee...