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Crow’s Feet Writing Prompt #74-FRESH START

The Scariest Fresh Start of All

A coast-to-coast relocation resets priorities

Barry Silverstein
Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age
3 min readJan 7, 2025

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Photo by xx liu on Unsplash

Years ago, our daughter moved from the East Coast to the West Coast. She and her husband, who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, were married in 2018 and decided to live there. They both got jobs in the technology sector, developed a network of friends, and took full advantage of the recreational opportunities that were available to them.

We lived on the East Coast all of our lives, but we began to think fleetingly about the possibility of relocation. We had family and friends on the East Coast, so it was a more serious challenge, one we were not ready to contemplate. Instead, we made a commitment to travel to see our daughter and son-in-law three to four times a year.

Two years ago, our granddaughter was born. This was the seismic event that created an inexorable pull to reset our priorities. Now our visits with our daughter and her husband included marveling at the wonder of our granddaughter. We quickly realized we would miss too much of her early development if we were not present in her life on a more regular basis. It was time to put the wheels in motion to consider a permanent move.

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Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age
Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age

Published in Crow’s Feet: Life As We Age

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” (Frank Lloyd Wright) Non-fiction pieces, personal essays and occasional poems that explore how we feel about how we age and offer tips for getting the most out of life.

Barry Silverstein
Barry Silverstein

Written by Barry Silverstein

Author and retired marketing pro. I write about brands, people and pop culture with an eye on history. Please visit my website: www.barrysilverstein.com

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