I am about to do something that I haven’t done since I was 22-years-old. I am moving across the country to a town where I know absolutely NO ONE to start a new chapter in my life.
When I was 22, I was fresh out of college and madly in love. My then boyfriend, Kevin, was bored with his job and ready for adventure. We lived in our hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana and we just knew there had to be more to life. Kevin was offered a job in Hickory, NC and asked me to go with him. I jumped at the chance-I would have followed him anywhere! I had no money, no job in Hickory and a car that wasn’t even guaranteed to make the trip! What I did have was the gut feeling that this was the right man and the right choice for me.
Kevin took care of everything for the move. He picked out our apartment. He arranged the moving company (I didn’t have anything to move anyway). We left at the beginning of December, so the weather would be an issue. I didn’t even really think about that. All I knew is that I was ready to go on this wonderful adventure with the man I loved.
Fast- forward 34 years. I am now 56-years-old. I am a wife (happy to say I am still with Kevin!) and the mother of a grown daughter. We moved back to Indiana after 3 years in Hickory, not to Fort Wayne, but to Indianapolis. We have lived the last 28 years in the community of Fishers, IN. It has been a great life, but once again, we are ready for adventure. June 2nd we leave for our cross county drive to Oceanside, CA. We fell in love with the area two years ago and are now going to make it our home.
This time, I have been in charge of the move. I found our realtor and house in Oceanside. I found our realtor in Fishers and staged our house for sale. (Sold in 3 days!) I booked the movers and made all the reservations for the hotels along our drive west. My life, it has changed tremendously since that move to Hickory. What hasn’t changed is this-I still have that gut feeling that this is the right man and right choice for me.
I have called this blog “No Map Necessary” because the biggest lesson I have learned in the 36 years since our move to Hickory is that no matter how much you plan, no matter how much you check every single detail, life happens how life wants to happen. There is no map to follow, no set of directions that will get you from Point A to Point B without obstacles. What there is, however, is faith. Faith in God to watch over you. Faith in your mate to love you no mater what. Faith in your child to respect herself and live a noble life. Faith in your friends to support you, laugh with you and cry with you too. Faith is what has gotten me from that naïve 22-year-old to the woman I am today. I have changed-the world has changed. This blog is to chronicle my two journeys- one as a young woman with blind faith in a man, and one as a mature woman with strong faith in her God, family and friends. My intention is to explore the two moves and how my life has changed. The past, I know, the future is a blank slate, and today is a possibility. I hope you will join me for this journey-you see, I have “no map” for where I am going, just the feeling that it is going to be one hell of a ride!
Safe Travels,
Lori
Part Two……………..Preparations………….Keep Reading……………
No Map Necessary 
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