Sometime late this summer, I got this fortune inside a fortune cookie that said:

Be prepared to modify your plans.

Considering that I had myself planted firmly in the middle of a crazy Plan My Life Out phase, that couldn’t have been more timely.

I’ve known for at least a few years that my life’s path needs to include travel.  You’ve all gotten a taste of that here this summer as I jet-setted to six different cities, multiple times, in 5 months, FOR FUN.  But until recently, I’ve never really known what exactly I meant by knowing I wanted to travel.  Vacations? Nomadic life? Move around? Take a year off? So many ways to do this, so how was I supposed to do this?

So, I started thinking about it.

The First Love

I’ve been in a loving, exciting, stable, beautiful relationship with my Twin Cities (would that make it a threesome? Me likey.) for the last six years, counting from the time I returned to Minnesota after a year in Milwaukee since that move really marks the start of my Big Girl City Living experience here.

That relationship is an ingrained part of who I am: my love of the lakes, the northwoods, the Southern and Western farmland, the connection to the Mississippi River – as a former Memphis girl, this almost always been a thread in my life – the growing foodie culture, the music scene, the skyline.

I suppose if I’m talking about this in terms of relationships, Minneapolis is like the boyfriend that feels it unnecessary to shower his girl in expensive gifts, but would rather just take care of her.  Minneapolis gives me crab-apple blossoms on the trees in the spring, bright red and orange leaves against the bright blue skyline in the fall.  Minneapolis is the stable boyfriend.  The first love.  The high school sweetheart.  Sexy and exciting; reliable and comfortable.

The Affair

My relationship with the city of Chicago has instead been a whirlwindy love affair.  Every single time I visit (starting with my first trip over 5 years ago), I’ve tasted the excitement and have been caught up in its bright lights and constant bustle.  The city has gotten me drunk off of the majesty of skyscrapers, has romanced me by the lake, and has wined and dined me down sparkly streets that stay up dancing all night.

Instead of moving and really committing, I just returned as often as possible like an addict to the buzz, and continued my ongoing affair with The Windy City.  It’s wildly passionate, romantic and exciting.  Days are always jam-packed with things to see, places to eat, being whisked from Wicker Park to Gold Coast through downtown to Midway and back again.

The Summer Fling

I made it to NYC this summer for the first time ever and while I don’t think I could make it as a local, I could absolutely spend a solid chunk of time there, perhaps summer fling-like.  Eating pizza and bagels until my pants stopped fitting, strolling through Central Park to work off all that food, exploring the art and museums and culture, and jumping in head first and hardcore for a few sweet months until the seasons changed and it was time to move on.

The One that Sneaks Up On You

In terms of real, romantic relationships, I always kind of believed I’d probably end up falling in love with a friend.  Someone who was always there, always stable, until one day things felt different.  I guess I don’t know that, I’ve just always pictured it that way.

There are a few cities that have been like that for me.  A few places I’ve always felt a connection, always felt welcome in, and always just felt comfortable with, even if there weren’t obvious bells and whistles, flashing lights, or shooting stars.  There are some places that boast activity and excitement married next to serenity and calm.  There are things and people and places that just one day hit you over the head and you open your eyes seeing them differently.  You feel a different kind of connection, a stronger kind of connection, and though it might awaken every sense of fear (the good kind), anxiety (the good kind), and thrill-seeking nerve (every kind) in your entire being, you know you can’t not check it out.

What I’m Trying to Say Is

After a year of running around, of soul-searching, of trying to define what my life is and is going to be, I decided to let it go.  Instead of a 10-year plan, I’ve started thinking in terms of 6 month plans.  Or so.  Six-ish.  I have long-term goals, mind you, but in terms of actual planning, I’ve let go of the need to list everything for someday and to spend more time living for now.

The Denver area is one that’s always resonated with me in terms of comfort, of welcoming.  And when I started thinking about moving around for a few years, I started thinking of other cities, other goals, other adventures.  And then one day, I just started thinking about Colorado.  About the subtle magic that is in the proximity to the mountains.  That is Pearl Street and flatirons and great Mexican food.  That are the CorePower Yoga original studios.

And then I decided to just move there.

My last day at my current job is Wednesday, November 25 – the day before Thanksgiving.  NEXT WEEK. I’m spending the month of December figuring it out, and then plan to take off sometime after the first of the year.  I’d like to spend the holidays here in Minnesota with my immediate family, and then spend some time in Alabama with more extended family.  And then pack up and take off shortly after New Year’s.

Is it permanent?  As of right now, no.  The loose plan is to do Denver over the course of the next year.  Ideally, after that, I’d start scoping out the Pacific Northwest, somewhere between San Francisco and Vancouver, BC.  Or maybe all of it.  I’d like to spend some time on the East Coast in the fall.  Nashville, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta… these are all places I want to return to or meet. I want to travel abroad, but I want to see more of this country just as much.

I don’t know if I’ll get to all of those places in this little adventure.  This is less about hopping around and more about taking some time to explore, so when it’s time for one adventure to end and another to begin, I’ll know.  And then I’ll move on.

My intentions are to return to Minnesota when I’m ready to root down.  I don’t know where life will take me, but the short-term and long-term visions have me running around for a few years, then coming back here, because this city is my love.  Does that mean we’re on a break?  Maybe.

But for now?  The plan is Colorado.  The timing?  Well.  Pretty soon.

I’m prepared to modify that plan; but that’s what I’m working towards right now.

Seeing a concert at Red Rocks is on my Life List after all.

Commence squealing.  Because I sure as hell am.  AHHH!

Tagged as: adventure, Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, moving, NYC, Travel