I’m home after two weeks of travel. Every place I visited, I’ve thought, “I could live here.”
My husband and I have had this discussion: If we could just pull up stakes and move, where would we go? We go through the pros and cons of the places we know, and places we imagine. But we never come to any conclusions.
This morning I walked into the coffee shop and saw the regulars.
In walks a woman who gets coffee at the same time I do. She’s an engaging person, thoughtful and friendly, the kind of person you want to talk to, to be around. She’s a doctor of geriatrics at USC. Has four grown children. We exchange the usual “how’s it going?” pleasantries.
Today, she tells me, is her last day at work. She does not say retire. “I am allergic to that word,” she says.
“Oh my gosh!” I say. I’m shocked, the thought of her doing something other than what she does hadn’t crossed my mind. “What are you going to do now?”
“We’re going to lease, or maybe sell the house; go to Europe for a year,” she says. “We’re just going to travel and see what feels right. That’s the plan, if it doesn’t work, we’ll adjust.”
What feels right.
Sounds like the journey my children are on. Beginning their lives, separating from their childhood, they are looking to make homes of their creation, their place to be in the world, to engage and be engaged by the world. They are looking for what feels right.
Who’s to say this is just a journey for the beginning. My friend doesn’t see it this way.
Where or what home might be should not be a fixed place or idea. From time to time, we should ask ourselves, what feels right.
Perhaps it’s the travel.
Perhaps it’s the journey I see others taking.
Possibilities are there. They’ve always been there. It’s just now, perhaps, it’s time to ask what feels right.
Thanks to Two Writing Teachers for Slice of Life Tuesdays. Read more slices and consider sharing one of your own here.
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Life is a journey, even when you stay home. I love the period of life where options abound. At times we think we don’t have options, but we always do. It’s up to us to make them realities or dreams. I love your friend’s plan for what’s next. I don’t know that I have the courage to pursue that course of life. But I can continue to dream.
I love what she said, “…see what feels right…”!!! Yes!! It’s such a risk to live life that way, but I find when I “feel” my way through decisions, it usually works out the way it’s supposed to…for the best! Keep asking those important questions!
This read like a prose poem – loved the way you wove that central idea through. How marvelous that this friend has such an attitude of relishing discovery and adventure. Glad you’re home safe and sound.
Going with your gut always seems to work for me. Well, most of the time. When it doesn’t, I have a great team of friends that help me through.
I enjoy how your posts lead me in a direction that I often don’t expect. Maybe your wandering will lead you back to LA (not L.A.)
Yes! The connection LA to LA! It makes sense and feels right❤️!
I think I will print your post to return to now and again, Julieanne. I am looking, imagining what might ‘feel right’ & there is much to consider. Thanks for sharing your own thoughts about this.
As our children grow into their own lives, it makes sense to explore possibilities of “what feels right.” And while change can be scary, it’s exciting to think about what possibilities lie ahead. I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your journey!
Your post today is similar to mine with a different twist. At a certain time in our lives we think a lot about the meaning of “home.” My husband and I are just embarking on the journey of redefining home since I am retired and he will soon retire. So far, I know it will mean staying near our two children if possible. But that’s all we know for now. The rest will become clearer I hope as our needs change.
What feels right–perhaps we should ask that question more frequently with the depth it deserves as we travel through life. Thanks for sharing.