Where the road ends....or begins!

My exuberant friend Joy has been pestering me for years to write a blog, presumably based on my loquacious emails. In her words, “When I read your emails, I feel like you’re right next to me!” Since the impressionable age of 14, I’ve been a fan of penning my thoughts on actual paper.  This of course was the result of being informed that if I ever wanted to be a serious writer, I needed to keep a journal; at the time, I certainly did. As such, I haven’t been able to wrap my head around a public & electronic blog, as I prefer to keep my deepest thoughts in my dear old noggin, or on private rag for only yours truly to read.

That being said, due to the fact that I did not, in fact, become a journalist but have instead evolved into an (unintentionally) roving designer, I recently discovered I will be spreading my wings yet again, as I’ve accepted a job offer in Seattle, Washington, at a design firm I’ve greatly admired for at least a decade. In contemplating leaving my dear *current* home of Nashville, Tennessee, I’ve been realizing that although it seems like we will remember today forever, I know in reality that is certainly not the case, and I want to fight for these memories. I was also struck with an unexpectedly severe pang of sadness when my big brother John & his wife Cece boarded a plane to move to Australia last year, and in living in time zones 15 hours apart, their blog was one of the few things that has helped in still feeling connected to them.  (I also no longer wish to singularly depend on Mark Zuckerberg to chronicle future exploits!!) So, here goes, as trendy as it may be…. let’s blog!

Since I finished my under-graduate work at the University of Michigan, life has thrown me a plethora of curves.  I’ve been asked uncountable times to explain why I have moved as much as an army brat, and all I can tell you is, well, life has just sort of….happened!  In my case, things went something like this:

St. Louis, Missouri (working as part of a project team for an entry in the Union Of International Architects in Barcelona, Spain) then across the ocean on to...
Barcelona, Spain (chasing a dream to work for some of my favorite Spanish architects following participating in the UIA mentioned above) then across another ocean on to...
Charlottesville, Virginia (graduate school) then through the Blue Ridge Parkway to...
Washington, D.C. (Summer fellowship at a firm as a result of winning a portfolio competition) then across the country to...

On the Alameda Ferry to San Francisco with older
brother John, 2000

San Francisco, California, (my first stop post-grad school – my big brother John talked me into going west – I thought it was big and scary! In retrospect, I am so glad he had faith in me….or maybe was just jonesing for family nearby!) then across another ocean to...
Kamuela, Big Island, Hawai’i (recruited for a new firm there – I didn’t feel ready to leave San Francisco, but hey! Who turns down Hawai’i?!), then back to...
Park City, Utah (my Hawai’i firm had some re-structuring, and somehow I ended up in Utah) & currently,
Nashville, Tennessee, (life changes.)

Atop Mauna Kea, Big Island, Hawai'i
John & Cece Fortuna, *me*, Emily & Adam Fortuna

I recently overheard one of my oldest friends say, “She’s unsettled, like you Jill.” Unsettled? I thought in horror! On the contrary, I like to think of myself as “multi-settled”. I genuinely try to embrace (or at least consider) every sensible opportunity life throws my way, and subsequently have a feeling of “home” in several spots across the globe.  I never make these decisions lightly, but I also never make them heavy. Life is meant to be lived, and sure, I’ve got a nomadic spirit, no doubt!  But, I never, ever take these things for granted.  I feel very lucky to have had the privilege to live in what I consider to be some of the most beautiful places on earth.  I know the Pacific Northwest will not disappoint in that regard, and I thought it would be fun to take you along on this ride, as well as have a comprehensive record to look back upon.

Keko, my favorite souvenir
from Kamuela, Hawai'i, 2004

I know what you’re thinking, “Seattle?! I hope you like rain!” Trust me, I’ve heard it all before:
San Francisco, “You know how expensive that is?”
Hawai’i, “Uh oh, you’re going to get island fever!”
Utah, “How are you going to cope with the weird bar laws and other religious - errr - stuff!?”
Nashville, “I hope you like sweltering heat!”

Narrows of the Harpeth, Nashville, TN
with Erik, Keko, Leslie & Joy, 2010

Sure, every place is unique, and every place has challenges. However, if you know me at all, you know I’m a glass half-full kind of gal, and as I let myself dream about what lies ahead, I see a romantic foggy mist rolling off the Puget Sound, and a slow dog walk in the rain through Volunteer Park with a canopy of fir trees to protect my precious "Princess Keko" from getting too soggy. I also see gorgeous sun-filled days kayaking on Lake Union, glorious treks through the San Juan islands, and the snow in my face as I rip down the slopes of Whistler on my Morrow snowboard. Not to mention, a lot of inspiring hard work with a great group of colleagues, as well family in close proximity, including my baby brother Adam and his wonderful wife Emily (*and hopefully soonish a certain other male blogger, but we’ll let him address that himself at a later date - when he’s not busy on another continent!!)  I think we can handle the rain.

Repelling through an arch, Moab, Utah, 2006.
 That's me!

As I gathered in my living room with a few close friends to celebrate the offer a few days ago, Jill-1 said both, “Now I’m going to be the only Jill! You can’t leave Jill-2!!” and then, “But we have to have a big party before you go!” To which I replied, “Every day should be a party. Let’s make the best of what time we have left!”  I believe that whole heartedly – in thinking of my time in Nashville, and in thinking of my time in life.  I have 20 days left before I head out on this journey, so if you are around, I’d love to see you! We’ll be living it up! Come join us.

77% of the Fortuna's camping in Ludington State Park,
....sometime in the 70's (pre-Adam & Josh)

When I was growing up, our annual family vacation was a jaunt to Ludington State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan.  Every year we’d embark on a highly anticipated ten day camping trip – mom would pack up the pop-up camper with all the tasty, surgary treats we were not allowed to have any other time of year, and together my parents would load up 7 bikes and 7 kids for our hiking, canoeing, camping, jart-throwing, marshmallow roasting, hobo-pie tasting week.  The distance between our childhood home in southwest Michigan and Ludington was only about 100 miles, but to 7 anxious kids that felt like a lifetime!  (and a lifetime of “are-we-there-yets” to two exhausted parents!)  To reach the campground and lake shore, you wind through the picturesque beachside town of Ludington, past the House Of Flavors ice cream parlor, past grandpa Hoppy and his shuffleboard courts, past the old cemetery, and finally through a five mile stretch of sand dunes & sea grass that border Lake Michigan. Breathtaking! You know you’ve arrived when the road ends, and there is no where else to go.  To my geography-challenged 6 year old brain, the adventures started, “Where the road ends.”  This time, the road ends in the Pacific Northwest.   Let the adventures begin!

“Not all those who wander are lost.”  - Tolkien