White Jacket Required

Never before had my life been so spontaneous . . . and scary. I pulled out the Coelho book and read as my plane crossed the sky.
Whenever we need to make a very important decision, it is best to trust impulse and passion, because reason usually tries to remove us from our dream, saying that the time is not yet right. Reason is afraid of defeat, but intuition enjoys life and its challenges.

“I know. Thanks, Dad. It’s going to be fine, I promise. You are only a phone call away, and I’ll see you again before we know it.” I said this without really knowing when the next time would be. We pulled into the terminal, and my dad stopped by the curb.
He lifted my suitcases from the trunk, and I hoisted my backpack up over my shoulders. “Well, I guess this is it!” I said and gave him a long, tight hug.
“You be safe now, you hear? I love you.” My dad had tears in his eyes, and I realized that this was only the second time I had ever seen him cry.
“I love you, too. I’ll call you this afternoon,” I said and watched him walk away and get back into the car while I was left standing there with my life stuffed into two bags and a backpack, waiting for a plane to take me west.
Once on the plane, I sat back in my seat and took a very deep breath

Adam had also been offered a job in the wine industry and had accepted as well. Over the weeks our friendship had blossomed via long phone conversations and lengthy emails, and we both couldn’t wait to spend more time getting to know each other and exploring Northern California together. Ironically, Rocky would be Adam’s new intern, so the three of us would all be together again. Since the guys were moving there before I was, they offered to let me crash on their futon until I found a place of my own. I gratefully accepted, laughing to myself at the craziness of the situation.
In five days I would be taking my second-ever cross-country flight from Florida, this time to move my entire life. Funny, the thoughts that run through your mind when you are packing up your old life for a new one—the things that you keep, the things that define you, and the things that hold you back.