my best life 07.10.17.1204P

Fifteen months earlier my wife, Cheryl, and I had made
the decision to move to California in hopes of a better life
for our family. My wife was a Chicago native and it was
her lifelong dream to move to sunny, southern California.
We also liked the idea of better educational opportunities
through the state’s top-rated schools for her two children.
Our closest friends, who had recently moved to California
from Chicago, invited us to come out for a visit the year
before. We accepted, and on a chilly fall day we left for a
week-long family vacation.
The cool greys of suburban south Chicago were quickly
forgotten when we stepped off the plane into the bright
sunshine. There was lush green grass, palm trees and the
stunning blues of the Pacific.
We rented a Mercedes during our stay, no longer driving
around in our older model SUV. Our friends were living
in a gorgeous home with a pool in a gated, up-scale
community. They were experiencing great success and
encouraged us to make the big move and create our own
success as well. It would be great to be neighbors again
and rekindle the friendship we all enjoyed back in
Chicago.
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