What started out as being an empty nester last summer has led to a year of changes this past year. Layoffs in my team urged me to look for another role last year. After several anxious months, I landed a new role in December and here I am six months later.
I did some soul searching and traveling after my youngest left for college. No longer bound by school routines and caring for the kids, my heart yearned for change. I secretly hoped that my next job would require me to relocate to another city. But that was not to be. However, working remotely afforded me the flexibility to work from anywhere in the US. I weighed my options: sunny California, busy Washington DC, and Texas. Not being a fan of big cities, I ruled out DC. I visited Texas for the first time last winter and wasn’t a fan. After living in New England, North Carolina, and the evergreen state (Washington), the dull brown and mostly treeless landscape of Dallas failed to allure me.
The beaches in California were a disappointment and the weather mostly foggy but my trip to Mt. Shasta was magical. Somehow it felt like I was home. But moving to a place where I knew no one seemed daunting even though memories of Mt. Shasta still haunt me. Someday…
But some sort of move was in the offing for sure. I could feel it in my bones. So although I haven’t moved out of NC, I’m moving to another town close by. Again too many choices and near misses later, I found a place that’s surrounded by trees and has a water body. God knows how long I will call this place home before I feel the urge to move again.
We came to NC nearly 8 years ago and I swore not to move till the kids were done with high school. These poor kids have moved all over the country several times and even to another continent. I was done with moving and just wanted to put down roots. But those of you who have been following my life through my blog, know that every single time I try to do that some storm or the other uproots me.
But I guess my roots are resilient. They get torn out and then sure as heaven they grow back nice and strong! Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I never left Chennai, the city where I was born and raised. What if I had lived there, retired there, and died there? Would I have been happy? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s hard to map out the trajectory my life would have taken if I never left Chennai.
All these years, the decisions to live in a certain place were dictated by the kids and my spouse’s work. I never had a choice regarding leaving Chennai or moving to the US. You’re expected to move to wherever it is your husband is. Maybe that’s not the case now but back in the early 2000s that was the expectation.
In a way it’s liberating to finally choose where I want to live, solely driven by my needs. I hope I have chosen well and this new place is the launchpad for a new chapter in my life. Wish me luck my dear readers! I’ll report back in a few months to let you know if this ends up being a misadventure or a magical journey into a glorious future.
Punctuate Life 