Dot Numero Uno

Life is really funny sometimes. It’s like you can see when something is being set up for you, but you’re not sure how it will unfold. I was a nanny on and off for the Samaan family for many years. The mother, Nancy, is one of my favorite humans. She’s so very down to earth, smart, and successful. When I started with them, I would watch Gabby and Faith. It seemed like these were the only two children she was going to have until Louka showed up in 2016. He was my best bud, we had so much fun together it really didn’t seem like work. Nancy had hired Juliana to organize and do laundry a couple of times a week. We would see each other and occasionally chat, but we never became friends outside of the house. At least not yet. I shared my plan to move to LA in October 2018 with Nancy not long after I had told my parents. She asked if I was moving with Juliana. I was confused…no, I wasn’t moving with Juliana, but is Juliana moving to LA? It turns out, she was, in November 2018. A coincidence too big to ignore. Once we both settled in, we decided to day trip to Joshua Tree together in December 2018. During our little adventure both of us expressed that this simultaneous, yet separate move, had to mean something. Only time would tell.

Jules had moved here with her stepson, Brendan, to keep an eye on him for her ex-husband. They lived in a beautiful two-bedroom apartment in Marina Del Rey. Brendan was in his early twenties at the time and she was not. After living with a messy man child for a year she decided she would look for another apartment. She ended up living with a stranger in Playa Del Rey. Juliana knew what was happening with Mike and Alyssa and knew that I wanted to return to LA. I asked her if she would potentially want to live together when I moved back, and she said yes. I was working remotely in New Jersey at the time trying to figure out the next step. We were trying to narrow down the neighborhood that we wanted to live in. I really liked Miracle Mile and she really liked the beach. We would send apartment links back and forth and she would check out anyone that had potential in person. We ended up in Miracle Mile because she was going to school in Culver City and I already knew the neighborhood was safe and close enough to Culver to not be an issue. Our apartment was two blocks away from where I had previously lived with Mike and Alyssa. I don’t think I was aware that she was studying astrology at the time. This seemed like the first dot connecting to a new chapter in my life. We signed a lease and I returned to LA on June 5, 2020.