Spread Your Wings

I grew up in a medium sized southern town that really had everything a normal person would need. There were plenty of job opportunities because of a local air force base and several large industrial-manufacturing companies in the area. For most people this would be enough - a place to make your living, raise your children and be buried within a few miles of each other.

That was not enough for me. We always vacationed at the beach when I was a kid whether we could afford it or not. As I grew into a teenager I felt an even stronger pull drawing me there. The sun, the water, the sand, all made me feel very special. I knew I belonged in the warm sun, near the blue water with sand between my toes.

Why do people get that certain feeling from living at the beach? I for one am particularly fond of bikinis and I always felt like the closer I was to the beach the more girls in bikinis I would get to enjoy. That's true. And that's a great reason to be living at the beach.

I'm not very fond of neckties and wearing coats and jackets. I'm not real crazy about wearing shoes, except for flip-flops. So again, the laid back attitude of a beach town would probably be more accepting of my lackadaisical manner of dress.

I could go on and name a myriad of reasons why I belong here and was born to live here, but that's not my purpose. I did have the spunk to make the hard decision to leave the comfort and security offered me in my hometown. And that, by far, was the hardest thing I've ever done.

Picking up roots, starting a new career, and moving a growing family away from our extended local family was difficult to say the least. I had second thoughts over the first six months of our move and would have easily gone back. But my immediate family backed me all the way. They were determined that there was no turning back.

If you have a dream to go somewhere or do something, you need to be sure that you follow that dream. Our life has been so much better than we ever could have hoped for back in our hometown of safety and security. Certainly we've had many obstacles and issues to deal with, but we were here together and capable of overcoming whatever stood in our way.

Go for it. Spread your wings. Reach out for what you previously thought was impossible. Take a chance. Don't go to your grave thinking about all the things you wished you had done.

Think about the possible rewards - girls in bikinis!