Well, I’ve officially been back in California for four months.

Let me just say it’s been an adventure.

I won’t bore you with all the details, but here’s a little gist of how the first few months went:

• I returned to some crazy cold weather and snow like we hadn’t seen here before. I officially don’t like the cold anymore and was pretty miserable (I know, #firstworldproblems).
• I got sick a couple of weeks in, and with the weather, that seemed to stick around for a few weeks.
• I was still healing from my back surgery last October
• I had to adjust to living with someone else… who is pretty chatty. Once my Dad got it in his head that I was working and not to come in and chat with me throughout the day, things seemed to flow
• A few weeks ago, I ended up with Shingles… my first time getting them, and fortunately, it wasn’t a bad case. The pain is still there but lessening every day.

Those are just the niggly things that came up all while trying to adjust to life back in the States.

I’ve had a few a-ha moments as well, which is what I’d like to focus on with this episode as I share the future of the podcast (I never intended to take four months off!), what’s been born out of this unplanned little sabbatical of mine, and why I’m incredibly excited about the rest of this year.

My original thought in moving back to the States was that since I was moving back, I might as well stay in Northern California, where all my family & many of my friends are. Then I wasn’t so sure.

I’m staying at my Dad’s right now (he’s got a pretty big house and has loved the company since my Mom passed away) and had thought I’d be here 3-4 months tops. My Dad is about an hour southeast of Lake Tahoe and about an hour from Sacramento, in a cute little remote town. It kind of feels like Tahoe up here, and he has an acre of property with plenty of pine trees.

While it’s beautiful, one of the things I was looking forward to in coming back was the conveniences, which isn’t necessarily the case being this far out. Mind you; everything is much more convenient than it was in Costa Rica.

Then I went to Costco on a busy Saturday afternoon with my Dad and realized that, holy hell…this was not for me either.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Costco, but having worked for myself for the last 15 years, I haven’t really needed to go on a weekend in a long time, and I always wear AirPods and listen to something while I shop.

I was so overstimulated by the time we left (and then went to a huge nursery, which was also incredibly busy) that I could have skipped dinner and just gone home.

It was definitely a case of “been there, done that’ – meaning suburbia and the big box retailers. I have zero judgment about it for anyone else, but I’ve realized it’s not for me.

I keep joking that “Costa Rica broke me.” 🤣

What’s more accurate is that I think it helped me find a more natural rhythm for myself.

I miss the ease, the energy, and the way of life.

I’m planning a trip back in October, and my new goal is to be able to go back and forth between California and Costa Rica. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but that’s the plan.

I’m also at an age where my health is a huge priority – and the truth is I physically felt better in Costa Rica. However, I do appreciate having healthcare in the States...