Going Coastal!

I was only 24 hours into the next chapter of my life when I realized that journaling this adventure would be a good idea. So, instead of pulling out my old Hello Kitty journal or my Lifetime Channel Diary, I figured I’d just blog about it. That way, my friends and family can follow me throughout this new experiment of sorts.

So, let it begin!

I guess I should start with what this journey is all about for me. In a nutshell: for the first time in my life, I moved away from my hometown of Nashville, TN and headed to South Florida. But as most of my friends know and all of my ex-girlfriends know, things in my life are never that simple, but rather quite complicated. 

So let me explain…

First…a little background. Every summer when I was a kid my parents would pack up our big white van with us six kids (along with the much-needed massive amounts of food and drinks), hook up the boat, and head to the lake. In Tennessee, if you want to play on the water you have two choices, a river or a lake. Wisely, my dad chose not to put his 22’ Sea Ray into the shallow, murky waters of TN rivers.

 We would frequent Center Hill Lake, Tim’s Ford Lake, and J. Percy Priest Lake in the Middle/East TN area. The fun of the day for me began when my dad let me help him hook the boat up to the van. Then we were off to the marina…where many stories of “putting in” were made legendary in my family (More on those stories in later posts :). On the lake we would ski (or in my case…try to ski), swim around a lot, and ride the inner tube – which for some reason we called the “ski biscuit”. We would do this routine over and over and we loved it! We even had our favorite neighborhood family join us in our boating adventures. Eventually, they bought a boat and we made a tradition out of it. We loved it!

So, naturally I developed a love for the water, and all things related. I love lakes, rivers, and oceans. I love boats. I love marinas and even today I have fond flashbacks at the first whiff of dead fish (spend any time at a marina and you’ll know what I’m talking about…although the same affection may not develop). Well, as it happens, when you move out from under your parents’ house, you are rudely alerted to the fact that your parents may have money and toys, but you do not. Well at least that’s what happened for me.

I have spent my entire adult life chasing this unrequited love of mine. When I moved out of the rents’ house, I moved to the nearby city of Nashville, where I courted the Cumberland River. The river, especially on the east banks in downtown Nashville, had become my place of peace. The spot I frequented, sometimes monthly - sometimes daily, was on the east bank of the Cumberland River looking towards the skyline of Nashville. From this spot I could hear live music that drifted across the water from the many “honky tonks” that lined the streets. I could hear the sounds of cars and trucks racing up and down the interstate just behind me, and I could see people walking up and down the opposing bank of the river. 

Many nights I sat there for hours, just thinking about my day, my life, and what I wanted out of life. Eventually, after being asked so many times why I enjoyed the water so much, I came to a realization that for me, water represents possibilities and new beginnings. And after the past ten years of my life, I needed both.

My life has not been horrible by any means. I was raised well, and had everything I wanted as a kid. My adult life, was not as easy. I’ve had quite a few girlfriends, twice as many jobs, and I’ve even been homeless before. From get-rich-quick schemes to developing, writing, and pitching a business plan for a multi-national conglomerate, I failed at every business endeavor I touched. After losing my faith, finding love, re-discovering my faith, losing the love of my life, and a 2-year international crisis with my family, I wanted a break…I needed a break, or else I was at-risk of going postal. More than just a break, what I really wanted was a new beginning, and with water representing possibilities, I decided instead…to go coastal!

So put on your life vest, and follow me on my journey. I expect it to be fun, exciting, a wee difficult at times, and even a bit lonely, but I’ll try and write with some humor…

Anchor's Away!