Dear LA

Dear LA,

You were my biggest risk and the ultimate test of my relationships, including the one with myself. Before we moved here, I remember reading something that said “you better know who you are before you move to LA, otherwise LA will tell you who you are”. It was meant with a negative connotation. As if learning more about who you are based on where you are could be a bad thing. I feel that LA enhanced who I am and reminded me who I am not. I’ll always be grateful for that.

LA, you taught me that family can be chosen. You also taught me that nothing can replace the real thing. I learned that both of these can be true. I cried on my first Christmas Eve here. We had a nice dinner with friends, but it wasn’t the same. I missed the traditions, the foods we’re used to, and believe it or not…the cold. But by the time Christmas came around again, I found the beauty in creating our own traditions. The addition of Cash really made us feel like a family as opposed to a couple, and I can’t wait to merge our traditions with our families one day.

You taught me that good friends are difficult to find and even more difficult to maintain from 3,000 miles away. You made it clear which of our Massachusetts friendships were built to last, and which new ones were worth nurturing. Having high standards for people in my life is something that I think has always been a part of my personality, but you brought that out ten fold. Moving here made my closest friendships stronger than ever, and steered me toward a few new ones that I’m going to work really hard to maintain. Sometimes I felt like a cold hearted East Coaster when it came to holding people here accountable to their word, but I’m glad I did. Loyalty is hard to find, especially here. I don’t regret the LA friendships that came and went, but feel as close as family to the ones that stayed.

You brought us our beloved puppy! He has added such an incredible amount of joy to our lives. He also taught us a lot about how to communicate with each other. Without the ability to have family help out, we had to coordinate our schedules around another living being for the first time. This was and is a frustrating change at times, but worth it without a doubt. He’s a perfect baby angel.

You held us during a global pandemic. On more than one occasion I panicked about the distance. You don’t realize quite how far a 6 hour flight is until all but one of them per day is canceled. But every day, you woke us up with sunshine and warmth. I’ll forever be grateful that we had your trails to walk and sunsets to enjoy during what were some of the darkest days.

You taught me that my passion for teaching fitness is really a passion for moving with a loyal community. That it relies heavily on who I’m doing it with and who I’m doing it for. That it’s better to temporarily not do it at all than to change who I am to fit a mold. It’s ok to wait. This need for patience also applies to lines and traffic. I’ll try to take some of that with me.

You strengthened our relationship and eventually, our marriage. Moving to a completely unfamiliar place with only a couple of acquaintances made for many nights spent just talking and enjoying each other’s company. We experienced every adventure and lesson by each other’s side. When the option for outside perspective or distraction was removed, we had no choice but to work together. I don’t know that we would have learned these vital skills if we hadn’t taken a chance on you.

I know that our time spent here will be something we talk about for the rest of our lives. We’ll tell our children how we hiked and went to the beach in the same day. How we found snow on a mountain top just a couple of hours away. How we spent holidays with friends, struggling to make big meals in small kitchens. How cool the palm trees look at sunset. How on days where we had no option but to stay inside, we could breathe a little deeper on the balcony.

You removed us from our loved ones, but we’re taking some pretty great new ones with us when we go.

You knocked us down more than once, but we’re walking away stronger than ever.

It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. Thanks for the memories, LA.

xo,
E