They--whoever "they" are--say change is inevitable, that change is good, that change promotes growth, that if you aren't changing, you are dying...and on and on and on. There is one thing that I have come to accept about change, though--you can either embrace it openly, roll with it complacently, or fight it vigorously. Depending on the type of change we are facing and when it occurs in our lives, we will likely do all three.
In my life, change has been, to cite another well-worn saying, constant. Not continuous, for continuous change comes known as chaos, but constant, meaning that it occurs with relative frequency. Take jobs, for instance. The longest I have ever worked in one place has been 10 years--and I had three different positions during that decade. Since then, my tenures have lasted one year, thee years, four years, six years, and three years (the last two running concurrently). Spaces in which I have inhabited? Far too many to mention; the longest (since leaving the family home) was five years on three separate occasions, the most recent of which was my home in South Bend. Relationships? Again, five years has been my max--thus far--although I am sure my bride of 11 months is planning on ending that streak.
So now, I stand at the brink of yet another change--one in which has been a long time coming for me, yet one that I didn't (directly, anyway) effect. For years now, I have wanted to get out of the Midwest and into warmer weather, specifically Florida. I began vacationing there regularly in the early 2000s and have yearned to relocate to its Gulf Coast ever since (never mind that I had a golden (and garnet) opportunity back in 1984). It just never seemed to be the right time, the right situation...the right something.
When Kendra and I got married last March, she knew it was my dream to become a Floridian--preferably before the magic age of 55, when I could move into most of the residential parks down there. So I have been applying and applying for jobs down there--all to no avail. My wonderful wife, despite the fact that she really, deep down, did not want to leave her family (much more tightly bound together than mine) or her job at her beloved library, did the same--and, as some comical twist of fate would have it, she landed a job down there, with the Martin County Library System, based in Stuart.
For those of you unfamiliar with Florida geography, Stuart is on the Atlantic side, along what they call the Treasure Coast. I've never been to that side of the state, but from the pictures I have seen, it looks every bit as delightful as the Gulf side. Next week, we make our first visit down there to scout out a place to live, as Kendra starts her job March 19. For me, it will mean setting up a new household and refocusing my job search in a new area.
(A bit of "credit where credit is due" here: I have to give Kendra a lot of it for making this leap of faith. Like I mentioned earlier, her family is far more close-knit than mine--we (at least, those in my generation) were always encouraged to spread our wings as widely as possible and fly as far as the currents would take us, whereas her family has tended to stick close to each other. This is a huge step for her, and I don't know if I will ever be able to express how much it means to me.)
So for the next few weeks, it will be getting moving quotes, changing utility companies, packing and purging, and--for Kendra, especially--saying some farewells. Change is change: you embrace it, roll with it, try to fight it, but in the end, it will have its way.
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