My Daily Detour

your heart lives?

Home is where your…..

job/career take you?

Home is where your….

-mom-

dad/family are?

How does one even begin to answer this question?I know a lot of people associate home to the place where their personal belonging live,well if that was true:

I still live in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

I have not been home in two years. I put my things into storage when I left Michigan for a job in Dallas, Texas.  My belonging are still waiting to catch up with my life–and I am more than ready for that reunion.

The last time I felt like I was “HOME” I  was living in my darling little bungalow house in Bloomfield Hills:

If I could go back and do it all over again….I would never have left.

But, here we are, and we cannot go back. We can only go forward. Regrets and living in the past only taint the future. I have made many wrong turn on my journey, taken quite a few detours–but have always discovered wonderful things on the trip. I have never been afraid of change, but I do know it gets harder and scarier the older you get. I am not so quick to make flip decisions. I think them through a little more, weighed the pro’s and the con’s….yet I will continue to DO and GO. I don’t ever want to look back on my life and make the statements ” I wish I would have….” or ” I wonder if I ….”. I really want to live my life to the fullest, take the chances and experience all I can.

What I do know for sure is:

My heart truly lies in New York City. It is where I feel the most alive. Where I fit in. I get the city and the city gets me. It is such a wonderous pulsating place. It is also incredibly expensive to live in, and not an option for me right now. In my heart I truly believe I will return one day.

My job/career currently is with Chanel here in Los Angeles.  I am a business manager for their beaute and fragrance category. I work in the Nordstrom account. I love working for Chanel, the history and story is so amazing. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was an incredible woman who changed the fashion industry. I have a small library on her life and the creation of her company. She was a savvy business woman. Almost every fragrance has a delightful personal story. I would consider her a mentor in my life. Chanel is one of the few beauty brands in the world that is STILL privately owned. I take a lot of pride and pleasure working for such an amazing company with such a beautiful product. However, I MUST remind myself–this is my “job”, this is not my identity.

My family lives in Michigan. My brother Paul who is two years younger than me, lives in our original hometown: Sturgis, Michigan. My dad lives about 20 minutes from him in a town called Constantine, Michigan. My mom lives another 45 minutes away in Niles, Michigan. They are all in the bottom of Michigan in small rural communities. When I think about moving home…the first thing that comes to mind is, “Where would I work?”….literally there would be nothing in my industries. These small hometowns are lucky to have a Wal-Mart, movie theater and fast food. I would have no idea what I would do for a living.

 I have two storage units in Michigan that contain the contents of my charming little bungalow house. I have been paying storage on them now for almost two years. The cost of moving everything to California has kept my belongings in storage. I was not going to make that trip until I knew that I wanted to make California my “Home”.

So Max and I have been living with the minimum. You definitely learn what you need versus what you want. I have a few token things that I brought on this journey: A mantel clock, a painting from Paris…these things bring me comfort and give me a sense of home….but most of my bedroom is furniture are things I have picked up on this journey.

Max and I are blessed right now to be living with my long time friend Rick. I have known Rick since high school. We lived together years ago– the good ol college days in Michigan and Chicago. We have kept in and out of touch over the last 20 years as our lives have taken both of us to many different places.  Our current apartment is filled with wonderful modern pieces ( he is an interior designer and has worked with amazing companies) so we have a great home.

BUT THERE IS CHANGE IN THE AIR——

Rick has accepted a wonderful new opportunity. He is moving back home to open and launch a new Italian furniture store. Back to the Midwest. Back to the windy (in the summer), beautiful and COLD (wait, I mean FREEZING in the winter) city of :

CHICAGO!

So the question now is….do Max and I head home with Rick or do we stay in LA?

It was not an easy question to answer. I have made so many pro and con lists that I can’t even keep track anymore. The weather here is absolutely amazing– I cannot imagine not having my morning pug walks surrounded by the beautiful flowers and sunshine. I will miss being able to jump in my car and go take class with Richard Simmons right down the road. My morning coffee break will not be the same without Mario Lopez shooting for EXTRA right next to me. No more book signings at Barnes and Nobles next door to work or waiting on celebrities in the store.

  I put in for a transfer with Chanel and Nordstrom to see if there was an opening in Chicago on Michigan Avenue….and low behold there is not. So I will have to leave Chanel, which is not something I am remotely interested in doing right now.

HOWEVER-

It is time to get grounded. It is time to center my life.

Here I come.

I will be staying with Nordstrom and working at their Michigan Avenue location, but I will not be with Chanel, as they are fully staffed. So there will be a new adventure at work. We will be living downtown in a new 30 floor highrise building that has wonderful facilities–doorman, gym, pool, dry cleaner, salon, spa etc. Chicago has a wonderful theater district and fabulous city cultural events. It is truly a magical city at Christmas. I grew up with yearly trips to Chicago to have lunch in the Walnut Room at Marshall Fields by the beautiful Christmas  tree—

It was a tradition.

 My mom is an hour away and my dad and brother two hours away–so I will actually be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I am excited to explore the Bariatric Programs in the city and see how I can become involved in the community.

So will Chicago be “HOME?”

I think only time will tell. However,  I do know is Chicago is a place that will be full of love, friends, family and comfort. It is going to be a place for me to reconnect with my old life and establish a new chapter. A place to get grounded again.

We are leaving Los Angeles on July 28th— two people, two suitcases and a pug—-driving one of our cars cross-country–stay glued to Facebook (Bariatric Regain) for updates. If that doesn’t sound like a great reality show, I don’t know what does! We will be making a quick stop in Michigan to pack up the storage unit and visit family–then we are moving into our new building on August 5th in Chicago.

A new job. A new city. Another chapter for my book.

So….for now I will answer the questions like this:

Home is where your…..

pug is.

xoxo,

Laura

Filed under: Travel, Uncategorized Tagged: | Bariatric, Chanel, Chicago, Los Angeles, Moving, NYC, Pug, Richard Simmons