Journal: #253 John & Natalie Take Risks
Early this morning, I slung my coffee into an empty water bottle and hurried down the Five to Sacramento for the day. I went to meet up with John and Natalie, who recently moved back to California from Atlanta. Today marked our first proper visit in three years.
I met John on my first day of first job in Redding. He was in his early twenties then, tall and charismatic. We worked side by side cold-calling prospects, which he took to like a fish to water. I was a bit more of a cat in a bath. I never liked sales and was glad when I finally quit the last sales job I’ll ever take.
John and Natalie met in Redding via BSSM and got married eight years ago. What I love about there vibe is their willingness to be who they are and take risks. They aren’t content with normal jobs and getting old. And then, there’s “her book.” Natalie’s book has been in process for at least seven years, having existed in some form for the last 5 years. Today Natalie told me she has completely rewritten the entire novel over the last three months. Why? Because. They are taking risks.
Natalie was case worker for a local autism non-profit when I first met her. Also tall but less charismatic than her husband, she is thoughtful and even-keeled. What her and John share most is a thirst to try new things, visit new places, and find adventure. When other couples their age think about buying a house and producing offspring, Natalie and John moved across the country, visited Turkey, Portugal, Taiwan, and Singapore, and tried their hand in at few small businesses.
After we ordered coffee, John began to fill me on why the sudden move back to California. It’s about “her book.” In the quest to get it published, my friends made a baller move. They decided she needed to write full-time. To afford the income reduction, they moved in with his parents…so she could write. I love it. I love she quit her job to do something she has to do. Maybe it gets published, maybe it doesn’t. Even if it is picked by an agent and published by a House, the book could flop in the eyes of readers. Still, so what? Success at any of those steps above would be amazing. Every rejection will sting. That’s the way it is. And yet…the unthinkable doesn’t happen if she doesn’t write or submit manuscripts.
I’d love to be that husband one day. I’d love for my wife to say “I’ve got to do this,” and then I do whatever is needed to help her make it happened. I’d rather be rejected a hundred times, than regret not trying. Admittedly, I want a wife who will do the same.
After a day of coffee, strolls through downtown Sacramento, and Chinese grocery stores, I hugged my friends and started home. Once I cleared Sacramento city traffic, I began to thank the Lord for my friends. They are unique in my life in character and vision. Of all the couples I know, I like their marriage the most for those reasons. They honor what the gifts the Lord gave them and step out in faith. It’s fun to watch.
