#FPQ 187: Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?

FPQ 1 Minute

Fandango has an interesting question in three parts today:

Have you ever made a decision on a whim that turned out to change your life? Yes.

If so, what was that life-changing decision? To move to Atlanta. I was tired of traveling at the time, and knew that I would either have to change jobs or change locations, and since this was where the corporate office was, it would mean moving here. I knew that the safest thing to do would be to look for a job in the Chicago area, but, when I called Mary from the airport after a meeting here, I said “I think I’d like to move to Atlanta. What do you think?” We discussed it when I got home, and while she wasn’t as enthusiastic about it, she finally agreed to it when I agreed to call the whole thing off if she ever decided she didn’t want to do it. Long story short, we left Chicago on Halloween 1987, and we’ll have been here 35 years next Tuesday.

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you hadn’t made that decision? I can see life taking us down the same road that we’ve followed here, just in the Chicago area instead of Atlanta. Mary might have continued her pursuit of a Master’s in Library Science, which I took her away from. I probably would have gotten tired of IT and worked on my MBA as a way out of that. I think eventually we would have looked for someplace in a warmer climate, where property taxes were lower and the opportunities were better for both of us (Atlanta, maybe?). But, who knows?

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

22 thoughts on “#FPQ 187: Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind?”

  1. Pingback: The Halloween Eve Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  2. A move is often huge. I vet my mom thought that when she came to Canada. Mine doesn’t involve a move, but it was a huge choice and, it would be considered judgemental from some people but it was a choice( no not abortion). I don’t regret anything and it was meant to be.

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  4. Hi John – when the opportunity arose to go to Canada I took it – it wasn’t all great, but an interesting experience and I learnt a great deal – cheers Hilary

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  5. Though I wrote a whole literary story about this very subject and whether there is a moment that changes everything. I wrote the story backwards. I should reread that. It was a great story…. Can’t remember who published that….

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      1. I remember. It was called (and this is a great title for the subject if I do say so myself.” “Nothing He Could Put a Finger On.” It’s in my collection of stories Seasonal Roads, published by Wayne State University. It’s on Amazon. I can always send it to you by email if you don’t want to suffer through the whole collection. 🙂

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          1. Oh that’s right! I write under L. E. Kimball. My maiden name. Lynn Fay sounded like a romance writer or a Chinese girl. Not that I have anything against Chinese girls, but I liked my maiden name. YOu can google me, too. Ha.

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              1. There ARE some weird literary stories in it! I warn you! But I think they are good. They are kinda linked into a sort of nonlinear novel. And not sure people saw what I was doing with Time. And Faith. I’m sort of an Einstein/Jung person. I hope you like them. But if you don’t, it’s ok to say so….

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