On the Move Again!
We are so excited to announce that we are MOVING! This Month! Next week! Ahhh!!
Did we know this was a possibility, how long have we known, why did we choose this, and where are we going?? All that and more to be answered in this post! Things are moving pretty fast (we’re moving NEXT WEEK and we just found out LAST WEEK) so things may get quiet around here this month – but you can bet that we are more than excited and ready to have a new home in a new state and get to explore a whole new-to-us area!
So way back when Curtis was looking into this program with the Navy – about 4 years ago – we would constantly discuss all the training he’d have to go through and places we could possibly live. I remember one time while he was running through this list he mentioned, “We’ll live in Charleston for sure, but there’s a small chance we could be sent to New York.” I think my immediate response was “But it’s just a small chance, right? Because obviously we’ll want to stay in Charleston.” He agreed, and that was that. Or so I thought. At that point, I was living in Iowa and I was looking forward to the day when I could live somewhere that didn’t have a winter. I thought marrying Curtis was the obvious solution, since he lived in Arizona, and there were several ports we could be stationed at in the South. Yeah, all I wanted was beautiful weather year-round, I was shallow like that. 😉
Flash forward about 3 years to when we were driving back to Iowa after Curtis’ OCS graduation in Rhode Island. We had really enjoyed our short trip to the Northeast part of the country, and for our last stop we went to Saratoga National Battlefield in NY. Somewhere while driving through and walking around, taking in the views of rolling hills with the trees just about to turn into their fall glory, we fell in love with this land. It was early in the morning and we practically had the place to ourselves, and we experienced the peace and serenity we crave when out exploring the world. Add that feeling with all the history that happened here and thinking of all the peaks in the Adirondacks that we could hike, we began to dream a little of what it’d be like to live there. That dream stayed in the back of my mind throughout the fall and up until we moved to Charleston.
We decided to give SC a fair shot and do everything we could to enjoy the area, and I think our blog posts reflect that. However, we quickly realized that while there were so many articles and suggestions of things to do in the Low Country, none of it was really for us. We are outdoorsy people at heart, and we were constantly searching for hikes or areas to explore away from other people. Charleston, being flat, doesn’t offer much in ways of hiking, and most other activities are festivals and gatherings. The best it has to offer (and which we fully exploited) was history. Other factors contributed to our willingness to move (weather, bugs, this being a big city), but we’ll save that for a different post.
I think Curtis was always very open to the idea of moving; however, I knew that the way things were looking, if we moved to NY we would have to be there through the winter. That was the main thought that held me back from really wanting to move. As time went by, things changed in my mind, and as we were driving home from our trip to Savannah last February, just a month and a half after moving here, I told Curtis that if he were ever given the chance to request to move, he should take it.
From the beginning of his time in school, the chances that anyone would be sent to NY seemed to be slim. It sounded like they were going to shut the whole NY operation down. Curtis’ instructors would tell the class repeatedly that they’d all be stuck here in SC for a year. And yet, when the day came for them to request where they’d like to continue on with the next phase of training, they were told that the Navy wanted to send 15-20 people to NY. Of course Curtis requested it – the only question was whether or not they’d choose us since we’re a married couple and harder to move around. To us, this just felt like our way of keeping all doors open, and we trusted that God had a plan and would put us in the right place. Sometimes it can be hard to know what He wants us to do, but for decisions like this it is so easy – we know that God is working through the Navy to send us to where He wants us to be. We trusted in that and looked forward to hearing the news.
After over a month of waiting, and with only 2 weeks of school left, we finally got our answer (just last week!) – YES! We’re moving to New York! Now comes the fun part – purging unwanted things, packing all our possessions, and preparing for another move to a new state. Really and truly, I love moving right now. I love getting rid of tons of stuff as I pack what I need and think of what kind of home we’ll be unpacking in in just a few weeks. I just love a good, clean, fresh start.
However, there’s always the bittersweet moments that come with every move: saying goodbye to friends and a place with which we’ve grown very familiar. We’ve loved the neighborhood we’re in and the church we found so much. Being introverted, it’s always a challenge for us to be in an unfamiliar place and try to meet new people, but God always blesses us with a few close friendships that mean a lot to us. The weird part about this move is that since we are living in a military community, if we were to return in 5 years, this neighborhood could be completely different, with all new families living in each house. That just comes as part of this military lifestyle – we can meet the greatest people wherever we are, but we’ll almost always be forced to say goodbye at some point. Sure, this is what we signed up for, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier!
So, all that is great, but how do I plan on surviving through a New York winter? And what kind of crazy person would want to experience a hot and humid Southern summer followed by a frigid and snowy Northern winter?? I admit, I’m idealizing the idea of it in my mind right now. I’m dreaming of snowshoeing through the woods and maybe even skiing, but in reality it’ll probably be lots of cozy sweaters and blankets and hot cocoa on the couch. I haven’t had to live through a winter in 3 years (and Curtis for 5!) but, as they say, it “builds character” and we will try to make the most of it. Thankfully, before winter comes, we should hopefully be able to enjoy a Northeastern fall, which we are certainly looking forward to hiking in!
Why else (besides the few reasons given already) would we choose to go through the inconveniences and struggles of a move? Why, for the sake of adventure of course! Everyone knows the Navy’s slogan is “Join the Navy, see the world,” and if we see any less than that we’ll be disappointed! 😉 We also have it so easy right now – later in life, it will likely be harder to pack up our lives and move our family around the country, so we want to take advantage of this ability while we can. Also, I really believe there’s no better way to see and get to know our country than living all around it. Our lifestyle of making the most of wherever we are allows us to not only learn to appreciate different parts of the country, but also helps save a lot of money while traveling. We just focus on a wide radius of wherever we’re living and explore the places we’d want to visit someday anyway!
I think that’s all I have to share for now. I’ll end this with saying that we are very grateful for our time in SC, and we are also very excited about what God has planned for us in NY! Please keep us in your prayers as we work out the details, travel, and try to find a new home!
