3.5 Years, 4 Zip Codes, 6 Homes

There was a time in my life that I felt pretty settled in.  I could visualize myself in 20, 30, 40 years.  I could see myself sitting in my sunny yellow bedroom book-nook reading.  I was pretty sure that life would simply carry on as it had for the previous number of years and I was pleased with that.

Then crazy things started happening.  Through various circumstances, my family realized the need to move.  I’m not going to lie, giving up what I thought was my forever home and place of stability and safety didn’t come easy.  It didn’t even come all at once.  For example, for our first move, we didn’t actually sell our house, or anything in it.  We just moved and rented it all out.  I needed the idea that I could still come back some day.  My, oh my, how I have grown!   Now, settling in to our sixth place of residence in a little over three years, I cannot say that moving becomes simple or easy but I have learned a lot. 

1.       Staying or going makes no difference.   People, things, life all change everywhere you go (or stay) no matter how hard you try to keep it the same.

2.       Saying goodbye is hard.  No way around it.

3.       Staying connected long distance is hard.  No way around it.

4.       Quit waiting.  While making long term commitments can get tricky, get involved and meet people now. Even if you only build friendships for a week, it’s a friend you’ve known for a week.

5.       Quit waiting.  Unpack all the way and make your house your home asap.  Life feels so much better when you’ve made it your own, so why spend days, weeks, months living in a place that needs your homey touch?

6.       Stuff is just stuff.  It’s not nearly as important as you think it is.  The things I clung so tightly to at first have long been sold or given away and have no bearing on my current happiness.  Twice now I have moved my family of four with what we could fit in the back of our SUV.   Not an easy thing to do, but not so unbearable either.

7.       Moving can be an exciting adventure.  New places to discover, new people to meet, new food to try!

8.       Getting frustrated that Google got it wrong while looking for a store can turn into a treasure hunt.

9.       People in different places do life differently, observe with an open mind and you might learn something.

10.   Family is everything.  Being together is worth it every time, all the time.

There’s still a whole lot of stuff that I’m still terrible at when it comes to moving and starting over, and believe me I would sure love home number 7 to stick around for a while, but I think the realization that I can be free to move and flex wherever life takes me and wherever God intends for me to be is good thing.

I would love to hear what some of my friends have learned about moving.  Any tips or perspectives that made it easier for you?