And just like that… we’re back! After a whirlwind 3.5 weeks (from job offer to move day) we arrived in Los Angeles yesterday. It has been nothing short of chaos since I announced that we were moving. But like the best kind of chaos. Like the kind of chaos that comes from big things. We are exhausted and jet-lagged, but we’re here. All five of us plus the dog! So I’ll call it a win.
It’s the first time we’ve ever movedย “back” to somewhere, and it’s kind of surreal to us. To move to a place already knowing people and places. To leave the airport and know where I could grab a quick healthy bite to eat. To get messages like “welcome home.”
Welcome home?
Los Angeles? Home? Holy shit… that’s weird. But here we are. And I’ll tell you one thing I plan to do differently now that we’re back; I plan to embrace being an Angeleno. When we lived here before, I refused to allow the spirit of this city to take me. I clung to the fact that I was an East Coaster. I refused to adopt the L.A. casualness and calm that comes with spending 95% of ones time in the sun and surf. I wanted to maintain my hard edges.
Not this time.
Dear Los Angeles, I’m yours for the taking.
The boys are super excited and Eleanor just keeps saying, “we go to the beach?” So I think the kids have already given in to Los Angeles allure. Elijah remembers things, like our favorite beach spot, and it’s sweet. Jeremiah struggles to remember specifics, but knows he spent the first half of his life here. Eleanor’s gender reveal pictures were taken just up the street in Santa Monica. There are memories here. And, for someone who has never put down roots, that’s weird.
But I’m ready to embrace it.
I’m not sure if California is our forever home, but at this point in my husband’s career, he’s moved up the ladder enough that it’s not unlikely. Or rather, there’s no reason we’d have to leave. So, as surreal as this may be, I’m feeling good. Like I can breathe and put down roots, and call somewhere home. Somewhere I chose with my family in mind. It feels a hell of a lot like adulting. So I’ll take that.
So I guess, yeah… hey L.A., I’m home.
Where do you call home?
Xo, Kimberly Fe'Lix
