Where Were You Four Years Ago?

I can still remember the feeling of change in the air in January of 2012. I was spending my time taking care of business and school related odds and ends as Zach and I prepared to head to California. 

My time was also filled with Internet research trying to find an apartment while not knowing anything about the various cities in the Los Angeles area, touching base with friends before departing, making sure my truck was ready for the drive and trying to determine how many of our belongings could fit in my truck and still be a comfortable drive to California. We had to take a good amount of Zach’s clothes since he would have auditions and other acting events. I took some jeans, about ten shirts, some sneakers, socks and underwear. I figured I could buy anything else I needed once we got to California. We also packed a TV, Zach’s Xbox 360, pots, pans and our computer.

The afternoon of January 19^th, 2012 was a bittersweet one for us.  It was Zach’s last day at school and I went to pick him up as usual. I didn't say much to any of the parents that I visited with each afternoon because I didn't feel like having a long conversation about our plans. Zach came outside about ten minutes after school ended with a look that was a combination of sadness and excitement. The idea that we were going to California the next day hit him at that moment. We were excited but nervous at the same time. His friends were coming over to our house that afternoon but Zach still had one more task before leaving school. We went back inside so he could (as a joke) put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his locker until he returned to school.

Think about how you feel on Sunday night once you realize you have to go to bed because of work the next morning. There is always a feeling of dread about the next day. I didn't feel a sense of dread because I didn't want to go to California. I was dreading the road trip that I was about to undertake in the morning. 

Dana, Zach and I hit the road at 5am on January 20th as a light dusting of snow fell over St. Louis. I took the snow as a sign to get the heck out of town! Dana took a week of vacation to drive with us and help us get settled. She needed to make sure her family was safe in California.

We made good time the first day as we went from Missouri to Oklahoma to Texas to New Mexico. We spent the night somewhere in New Mexico because the combination of high winds, winding roads and UFO talk made us ready to rest for the night. We hit the road again on Sunday around 8am and went from New Mexico to Arizona to California as we finally arrived in Los Angeles. 

We left at 5am on the 20^th and got to our hotel in Universal City at 10pm on the 21^st. Our drive across the country included stops in Tulsa, Amarillo, the car museum at Russell’s Truck & Travel Center in New Mexico (3 miles from the Texas/New Mexico state line), a hotel stay somewhere in New Mexico, fast food in Albuquerque and our arrival in California. 

After a week, Dana went back home and we settled into our new routine of being apart for what we thought would be about six months before heading back to Missouri. Dana and I were pretty sure that the lure of football season and his friends would make Zach want to go back to Missouri.

That's what we get for thinking we had any idea what the future held for our family! 

Here's to four years of Hollywood, child actors, stage parents, porn king neighbors, a cross country family relationship, a TIA stroke, agents, managers, making new (and good) friends, a near death hospital experience, family visiting us in California, blogs, casting directors, Disney, Nickelodeon, improv, making a life in California, Russian cell phone kings, high school graduation, sky poison (rain) sending the California natives into a panic, filming television shows and movies in Los Angeles as well as Missouri and Oregon, a series of freelance gigs that have found me working with people in the entertainment/physical fitness/life insurance/crowdfunding/spices/public relations/social media management/plastic surgery industries, theme parks, college, baseball, traffic, learning our way around Los Angeles and the three of us living in the same city again.

There hasn't been a dull moment since we arrived in California. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for all of us.

This Actor Explored Los Angeles With Me After We Moved Here.