California Dreaming

The Rumor Man comes clean! Finally...
So what were all the cryptic references and allusions to oh-so-secret secrets about exactly? Well, it is official.

We are moving back to California. We've been here 3 1/2 years--to me, the best 3 1/2 years of our married life; we own a house, we're better off financially and I could not be happier about my professional situation.

For my wife? 500 miles from her family, in a climate that is the evil-twin of what she loves (116 degrees yesterday in Phoenix versus 69 in Lompoc along the coast), in a place where she's struggled to put down roots, it's been the most difficult 3 1/2 years she could have imagined. That being said, we've been working at cross-purposes for quite some time.

I've fought the good fight, but at this point my love for our home, my enjoyment of the area and passion for this work cannot compete with my love for and commitment to my wife. If leaving Arizona is what it takes to put her smile back on her face on a more regular basis, then that is what I will do.

So now what? The house will be on the market at some point this week, we will effort to figure out when both of us will get back to CA. I left my wife in Lompoc yesterday to start a new job this week. Once the house is sold the question will simply be, do I remain here until I've landed a job of my own or will I shut it down here to join her there and seek new employment from there. Not an easily answered question at this point.

So what of the Rumor Man's other points? The hints about big-things-a-coming down the pike for My Dogs are Smarter? Well, Sim and I are already scheduling our teleconferences and strategery-planning sessions for what we'd both like to see become a blog of import to one degree or another.

Once the house is listed and everything associated with that is history, I'll have the time to work with him on these things and we can get the ball rolling. As you've seen me lament numerous times here recently, I haven't had the time to devote to such things with all these other life-decisions being worked on at the same time. Thankfully, that's changing!

Stay tuned for the details!