Cowboy Up! Part 3

Brace yourself. This one isn’t short. So, pour a cup of coffee and settle in for a little ride with me.

Two years ago, I wrote a blog on my birthday. This year, I decided to write one on the last day of my birth year. Kind of an introspective look back and forward from a guy who not only has grey hairs around the temple, but a beard chock full of grey and needs glasses to read anything.

In the last two years, I believe I have lived every bit of my admonition to all of us. I’ve kissed and marveled on babies, loved deeply on my friends, and, yes, I’ve even eaten more than my share of ice cream. Banana Splits are still my favorite. Although, the salted caramel mocha frappachino at Starbucks has become a close second. It has enough calories to choke a horse!

The last two years have been amazing. The first year was spent recuperating from my divorce. To be very transparent, I was a total mess. I had found myself sitting on my butt in the mud wondering how in the world I had gotten into such a mess. As with everything else, I did it with verve. So, I knew I needed equal élan to spend my 50th year getting myself out of the mud, determine where in the world I wanted to go, and what that person looked like and acted like to get there.

I spent my 51st year trying on this “new” person and my last step was the “where”. So, as I sit here today on the eve of my 52nd birthday, that place is in the sunny clime of Southern California, specifically Orange County and right this moment at a great little Starbucks on the corner of Jamboree and Bristol in Newport Beach.

A bit of background on why I chose this area is relevant to my story. Many of you know I planned on moving to LA upon graduation from college. My father’s cancer and life postponed that move. “OC”, as it called by locals (not “The OC” as it is called by the television show and referenced in a few movies), is roughly the same size as the Denver Metro area. Los Angeles is more than four times that size and is, in my estimation, crowded and less desirable than the open areas of OC where you can hike a mountain and swim in the ocean in the same day. Most importantly, my “little ones”, Kennedy and Jackson, live in Huntington Beach and “the boys”, Connor and Ryan, love coming here to, in addition to seeing me, go to the beach; something I do at least weekly.

Back to my year. I started it here. In fact, I flew into John Wayne Airport on my birthday and celebrated it with new-found friends at the Capital Grille in Costa Mesa. I spent most of December, January, March, and April here before finally “burning the boats” in August and moving here lock, stock, and barrel. I sold my condo, stored what wouldn’t fit in my appropriately-named Chevy Malibu and took off without a friend in OC or even a place to stay.

Along the way, I was in Denver sporadically and spent May into August in St. Louis; an experience I thoroughly enjoyed. The Southwestern Consulting crews of Kansas City and St. Louis became extremely close friends through an interesting time enjoying everything and everyone in St. Louis. Weekends were filled with wine tastings and winery visits, party cove on Lake St. Louis, dancing in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas, Cardinals games and the Arch, outdoor concerts at the Botanic Gardens and the Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park, Downtown St. Charles, biscuits & gravy at JJ’s and the many places and churches Jay Jones and I visited. St. Louis will always have a dear place in my heart.

This year brought about a deeper deliberation of my faith, I fell in love twice bringing a renewed faith that it can happen again, and a confirmation of OC being where I belong for the foreseeable future.

I have hiked in the mountains, played in the ocean, stood on the corner of Hollywood and Vine, re-connected with college friends in LA, I’m still wearing shorts and t-shirts in the winter, and I’ve met a lot of really great people through my wandering around OC and involvement at Mariners Church. The people at Mariners welcomed me into their community and gave me a group with whom to enjoy Halloween and celebrate Thanksgiving. I use the word, given, intentionally, as it has been a gift. My involvement with the singles group, Velocity, the men’s ministry, softball team and mentor program has been and continues to be very rewarding.

In short, on this last day before I turn 52, I’m re-building my life and community in OC, much like I did in Colorado from Arkansas. I will find the theatres, concerts, and Starbucks meetings that I have always enjoyed. And I think I will add deep-sea fishing, whale watches, surfing, mud runs and obstacle courses, and I may finally sky-dive.

Reiterating the admonition to kiss babies, love on friends, and eat more ice cream, I’m adding make new friends, take more chances, and experience more of your surroundings.

I know I will.

Cowboy Up!

One last note. The Meeting Dude is back! After being a very poor blogger in the last year – most of my posts were through Facebook – I plan to look for, meet, and write about all the interesting and unusual people and places in my new community. I will also, on occasion, blog about things that are on my mind as an outlet to share with you and a challenge to put some of them into action.

Stay tuned to my posts on Facebook, as well, for pictures and posts of all the things and people I’ll be enjoying.

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