One Family To Go, Please
Yes that’s right, one family to go and make that super sized. I wouldn’t necessarily claim that as our family motto but it was an ongoing theme for our family for the past six months.
We sold our home in May and headed to Florida. However, it wasn’t as simple as that. We stationed ourselves in Arkansas for a couple of months to visit family. This way I would be able to accompany Cameron to Europe on one of his speaking engagements while they graciously watched our four boys. As well, we could then plan the next leg of our trip. Making whirlwind trips to Florida to scout out possible sites of residence and narrow down neighborhoods. When finally we crammed everyone and everything we needed into the suv and jeep we pulled behind us and moved to sunny FL leaving the rest of our belongings in storage in AR.
At last we had arrived. Things slowed down a bit while we were there. We enjoyed the beaches and the weather and the family immensely. However, Cameron’s traveling didn’t slow down. Everyone was extending offers to present at conferences as well as job interviews. Companies that carried clout and that held high prestige all were knocking on our door. We weren’t even seeking to go corporate again. But, we had to at least explore the opportunity to see if it led to anything we might not have figured in. And they all did.
While trying to make sense of it all we continued researching and searching for the perfect home. We knew the city like our own back yard. We had a couple of homes in mind and the market was in our favor and we were prepared to make an offer and play some hard ball. When Cameron flew out to SLC to meet with a client only to be offered an in house position that was just too good to pass up. Everything came to a screeching halt. We stayed up for hours past the boys talking ourselves to sleep for nights. We both knew the answer. Even though that meant leaving behind the powdered sugar beaches and crystal clear blue tropical water. Leaving the warmth and the lush green. Packing away the boogie boards and suntan lotion. It was hard, oh so hard for everyone.
Needless to say we struggled for several days, wrestled with accepting the offer. After all we just got to Florida, we were ready to buy a home, we were loving it and accepting would mean we would have to turn around and go write back where we came from. Cameron was doing great on his own. He’s extraordinary at everything he does, he’s always been a miracle worker. And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. ;) At any rate we decided to accept. As strange as it sounds it was a good move for us even though it meant leaving behind people and things that we loved and moving back into the dead of winter, which Cameron and I hate. And so here we are but now the home search starts all over, along with everything else.
So the last six months we have been living out of hotels, relatives’ homes, vacation rentals and more hotels with only what we could cram into our suv and the jeep we pulled behind us lest a remind you. After a while we couldn’t tell a difference between the crackers or the sand on the floor. I resorted to homeschooling until we could settle down to lessen the stress of frequent moves and we were pretty much a one man band so to seek.
So even though it is unbearably frigid and everything is dead here it has been nice to finally get our lives back from storage and it was like Christmas for the boys to open up all of their toys and bikes again. It felt good to hang a picture of our own on the wall and place a memoir on top of our piano. I truly believe that home is where the heart is, but after awhile it’s nice to have roots. I must put a plug in for the boys who were remarkable. They were amazing at how well they held up to the traveling and all of the changes. They are my heroes.
I wish I could say that when all the dust settles I could make sense of it all and explain our reasoning. But I know better, the dust will never settle. We still have to remind ourselves what we’re doing back here, there will always be questions and what ifs. There might not always be a one correct choice or even a wrong choice. I’ve come to accept that we will always be on the rise and that countless opportunities await us. Life will always have opportunities to offer, challenges to give, trials to suffer and experiences and adventure beyond measure. It’s how we handle what we’re given. As Cameron and I have reminded ourselves countless times, as long as we get through this still holding hands with our heads held high, knowing we did our best. I will say, that we’ve been greatly blessed and we have everything we could ever hope for right here under our roof in arms reach, just a hug and a kiss away.
We sold our home in May and headed to Florida. However, it wasn’t as simple as that. We stationed ourselves in Arkansas for a couple of months to visit family. This way I would be able to accompany Cameron to Europe on one of his speaking engagements while they graciously watched our four boys. As well, we could then plan the next leg of our trip. Making whirlwind trips to Florida to scout out possible sites of residence and narrow down neighborhoods. When finally we crammed everyone and everything we needed into the suv and jeep we pulled behind us and moved to sunny FL leaving the rest of our belongings in storage in AR.
At last we had arrived. Things slowed down a bit while we were there. We enjoyed the beaches and the weather and the family immensely. However, Cameron’s traveling didn’t slow down. Everyone was extending offers to present at conferences as well as job interviews. Companies that carried clout and that held high prestige all were knocking on our door. We weren’t even seeking to go corporate again. But, we had to at least explore the opportunity to see if it led to anything we might not have figured in. And they all did.
While trying to make sense of it all we continued researching and searching for the perfect home. We knew the city like our own back yard. We had a couple of homes in mind and the market was in our favor and we were prepared to make an offer and play some hard ball. When Cameron flew out to SLC to meet with a client only to be offered an in house position that was just too good to pass up. Everything came to a screeching halt. We stayed up for hours past the boys talking ourselves to sleep for nights. We both knew the answer. Even though that meant leaving behind the powdered sugar beaches and crystal clear blue tropical water. Leaving the warmth and the lush green. Packing away the boogie boards and suntan lotion. It was hard, oh so hard for everyone.
Needless to say we struggled for several days, wrestled with accepting the offer. After all we just got to Florida, we were ready to buy a home, we were loving it and accepting would mean we would have to turn around and go write back where we came from. Cameron was doing great on his own. He’s extraordinary at everything he does, he’s always been a miracle worker. And apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so. ;) At any rate we decided to accept. As strange as it sounds it was a good move for us even though it meant leaving behind people and things that we loved and moving back into the dead of winter, which Cameron and I hate. And so here we are but now the home search starts all over, along with everything else.
So the last six months we have been living out of hotels, relatives’ homes, vacation rentals and more hotels with only what we could cram into our suv and the jeep we pulled behind us lest a remind you. After a while we couldn’t tell a difference between the crackers or the sand on the floor. I resorted to homeschooling until we could settle down to lessen the stress of frequent moves and we were pretty much a one man band so to seek.
So even though it is unbearably frigid and everything is dead here it has been nice to finally get our lives back from storage and it was like Christmas for the boys to open up all of their toys and bikes again. It felt good to hang a picture of our own on the wall and place a memoir on top of our piano. I truly believe that home is where the heart is, but after awhile it’s nice to have roots. I must put a plug in for the boys who were remarkable. They were amazing at how well they held up to the traveling and all of the changes. They are my heroes.
I wish I could say that when all the dust settles I could make sense of it all and explain our reasoning. But I know better, the dust will never settle. We still have to remind ourselves what we’re doing back here, there will always be questions and what ifs. There might not always be a one correct choice or even a wrong choice. I’ve come to accept that we will always be on the rise and that countless opportunities await us. Life will always have opportunities to offer, challenges to give, trials to suffer and experiences and adventure beyond measure. It’s how we handle what we’re given. As Cameron and I have reminded ourselves countless times, as long as we get through this still holding hands with our heads held high, knowing we did our best. I will say, that we’ve been greatly blessed and we have everything we could ever hope for right here under our roof in arms reach, just a hug and a kiss away.
2 Comments:
Well, it's good to have you back. And if you find yourself pining for sand and salt water, the fragrant shores of the Great Salt Lake are only a few minutes away, right?
I suppose you're right. ;)
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