Friday, April 19, 2013

Moving Author Seeks Volunteer Assistant

In two days we are moving from northern to southern California. San Diego has been my home for most of my life since I was seven years old.  My California addresses have gone from San Jose, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Sacramento and most recently Humboldt county.  The military took me from Florida to Tennessee, Japan, and back to San Jose. Grad school was in Colorado. Two years of adventurous living from Nayarit, Mexico to Costa Rica and ending in Puerto Vallarta Mexico--driving the entire trip.  Now I am returning to the city I've had the most addresses in--San Diego.  From mountains to jungles, small towns to cities, and countrysides to suburbs.  I've been there.

Where did this moving trait come from? Should I give a childhood that experienced moving at least once a year? My enrollment in schools included eight elementary schools, two junior highs, and five high schools.  But blaming childhood for adult choices is so mundane and overdone; I prefer to accept the adult moves as a credit to my adult choices.

Seems to me that there are always practical reasons.  Something comes up that makes moving the best choice.  And the closest thing I've ever experienced to attaching to a place is a need to be near a place of beauty for long walks and meditation.  Maybe the desire to be stationary is missing from my DNA chip.

The one thing I dislike about moving is the process.  Boxing up, intense cleaning, deciding what to take and not take, trips to the Thrift Store for donations, the long to-do list that haunts my dreams--all of this should be done by a personal assistant.  Anyone want to do this as a volunteer intern? I'm sure I'll have plenty of learning opportunities for an eager intern in the years to come.

The strangest thing, possibly, is that as I review the moves of my life, I don't regret a single one.  I've made friends all over the world! I've experienced different cultures, socio-economic groups, parenting styles, reasons to laugh, poverty and riches,  climates, animals, and how old people and children are viewed.  Stuff I wouldn't have come to understand at the depth reached when on vacation.

But now I'm thinking that I'm going to plan the second half of my life a bit differently.  I want a big family house in San Diego that my children and I will have as a permanent address. From there, I want to take 1 to 6 to 12 month moves through out the world and always end up at the family home. This will be easier. Also, I'll have that personal assistant to arrange cleaning and packing each time we leave a place.  I'll keep the moves but relinquish the hard stuff.

My grandmother tells me she has an address book devoted to just me. This newest move will force her to buy a new book.  Should I tell her to buy two books--just in case?

Heather Leigh