California Love.

I am writing this from a plane heading back to D.C. from Los Angeles. Alex, Charleigh, and myself, spent the last seven days in California for Chuck's (Charleigh's) spring break. This was our first family vacation. We had a great trip. Especially Charleigh, she LOVED everything about California. She did not want to come back, probably because she didn't want to go back to school. School isn't her favorite place. I'm sure she would rather spend everyday at the beach and having fun instead of taking care of her (First Grade) business. Wouldn't we all?

Sometimes, it is still weird to me that I have a family to do things like take vacations with. I am definitely experiencing a lot of new things, things that I never thought that I would experience. I am enjoying them. We are all learning and adjusting together. It has been a fun process. I hope that I am doing a good job being a family man, I'm definitely learning on the fly, and I'm cool with that. Charleigh loves me and her Mama is still putting up with me so I guess I'm doing alright.

It felt good to be back in California for a little bit. I lived there from September 2011 to May 2014. I really enjoyed my time out there. It's definitely my second home. I had some great times there and made some good friends. Mostly guys that I used to cook on the basketball court. I saw some of them while I was there this past week. Went ahead and cooked them for old times sake, had to let em know that ain't nothing changed. 

Being back in LA definitely made me reminisce. I enjoyed being back and hanging with some of the fellas. I loved being able to spend time with my sister Sada. (make sure you go get her album “Long Story Short” off iTunes if you don't have it already.) I reminisced on a time in my life that was a lot of fun. I would play ball every morning, hang with the fellas, I had a fun job working with some great kids, would go to the beach on the weekends, enjoy the sun shining and the perfect weather everyday. It was definitely a good few years. My best times in LA came when I was courting Alex. She would come out to visit me and we would get to run the streets and explore the city together. We went to damn near every vegan restaurant and art gallery out there. We would go to the beach and just sit in the sun and talk for hours. We went hiking and practiced yoga. We would drive by the clubs and laugh at all the “baddies” waiting to get inside. We have great memories from this time. It feels like that was about 20 years ago now, but it was only two. We have our spots that remind us of a special time for the both of us. 

I never wanted to leave LA. I loved it there, I still do. I made the decision to move last year when long distance was getting too tough for Al and I. We wanted to be together everyday and had to figure out how to make it happen. As much as I wanted to stay, and as bad as she wanted to bring Charleigh and live in California, we both knew that the timing wasn't right for that. So I decided to up and move to the DMV to take our relationship to another level. I remember when I told people that I was moving to be with my girl. Some thought I was crazy, others thought it was a good move. I really didn't give a damn what anybody thought. I was the one making the decision. I knew what I wanted and what I felt was best for me as a man. I knew that it would not be easy, but I wasn't scared. I was ready for the challenge. 

Since I moved away, it's definitely been an experience. We've had some tough times, and we've had some amazing times. That's life. No situation is going to be perfect all  of the time. It even rains in Southern California, (Tony and nem lied) not often, but it does. I know that I made the right move for me. As much as I miss LA, I wouldn't change my decision to move. I think that I have learned more about myself and grown more in the past twelve months here than I did in the almost three years that I lived there. 

All in all, it was good to get back out there for a few days. Hopefully we can make our way back there and stay for good soon. I need that sun 350 days a year. Especially now that it's black emojis. This gloomy weather in DC has me looking like the yellow defaults. I need my summer color all year long. 👳🏾