Just before the turn of the new year, I wrote about a dream assignment and a desire to stretch myself more as a writer. I wrote about possibilities and being at a fork in the road.

And then I went silent for a while. Why? Because I got to work. Sort of…

The truth is that the assignment at Infusionsoft turned into an amazing job offer as a staff writer, with one hitch: I had to move to Phoenix. And while the decision to accept the offer was sort of a no-brainer, I’ve been working these last two months planning my transition.

Here I am with seven days before the big move and the last week for me to wrap up my bigger freelance projects. I’ve got boxes all over my house, boxes that will get packed into a moving truck next week, when I uproot my life here in sunny SoCal, for a new start in the Arizona desert.

It’s all at once exhilarating and stressful. The boy doesn’t want to move, so there’s the guilt about uprooting his life. I have friends and community here that I’ll miss. I’ll miss the beach and freelance freedom. What I won’t miss is the bustle of SoCal living. And while I’ll miss the flexibility of being my own boss, I don’t think I’ll miss having to hustle so hard to support myself and my family.

Speaking of family, with the new income and the new house, the elder boy will be able to come live with me again. Sometime near the end of the year, my long distance for too long honey will return for good. And poof, I’ll have all my boys under one roof.

It’s all a little too much to process right now. I’m still processing the idea of leaving the beach. But in seven days, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing.

Image courtesy of Sean MacEntee