London calling

It's all been planned out for years, this life of mine. The marriage and the kids and the house in the 'burbs, all anxiously anticipated and joyfully realized. The friendships I've made and the friendships my children have made, all carefully cultivated to give us a social network, a base to fall back on and daily entertainment. The classes and activities which my kids participated in as babies, which positioned them for the preschool they now attend and for the elementary, middle and high schools they will someday attend, all painstakingly thought out with far more detail than was probably strictly necessary. I know what I'm doing next week, next month and next year. I know how those actions will impact my life even further out. Planning is my nervous tic and my outlet for excess energy and worry. I obsess over decisions and details, but I'm happy in my obsession. In the end, I am comforted by a wealth of personal knowledge and by the security of a well thought out and executed plan.

So when the plan gets tossed up in the air, when a once in a lifetime opportunity comes up that would upset the applecart completely, rendering the past 7 or so years of planning somewhat irrelevant, how do I respond? Are you kidding? Just think of all the new obsessing and researching and planning needs to be done to make this new life path successful! Bring it on...

And just like that, everything changes. An unexpected job opportunity for Paul. A year -- maybe 2 -- in London for all of us. A new lifestyle. New experiences. A new view of the world. And yes, I selfishly admit, maybe some new writing material, too. Nothing's set in stone yet. No papers have yet been signed -- or even proffered. It's too early to say for sure how this will all pan out. But in my mind, I'm already walking my uniformed daughter to her first day of British school. I should bring an umbrella in case it rains.