the 2.5 year mark
Over the entire length of our adult lives, Ben and I have developed a pattern of a major life change happening every two to three years. Whether it's been a new child or a move to a new state or a career change, we've always had something big to shake things up a bit about every 2.5 years.
No major life events have happened to us in 2.5 years and it feels a little odd that there is nothing on our horizon. Ben and I each have a little bit of restlessness as we deal with this new idea of NOT altering our lives in a big way as we approach this marker.
We like life in St. Louis. We like that the kids are establishing their roots somewhere. We like being closer to extended family. We like immersing ourselves in the culture of our schools and our church, knowing for the first time ever that we are here to stay. You approach things much, much differently when you go into a move knowing that you will only be in that new place for about three years.
We are not unhappy with our current spot in life. This status quo is a good status quo. For many reasons, I am happy to picture staying right here in this house in this little corner of the world for the next decade or so.
But wow is that a new and a little bit strange concept for us! I will admit that there is something pretty enticing about the adventure that I will miss. Each new baby to the family stole a piece of my heart and made life better. Each new move was an adventure, one that we got to take as a family. Someone said to us lately that we seem like a really tight knit family. I think our moves have something to do with that.
Ben was approached last month about a relocation to South Florida. I said a quick no, but Ben's decline was a little slower. He got sucked in to the idea of the adventure, I think, of moving our family to another part of the country and getting to experience life there. He tried to sway me (not really, but just a little....) with talk of taking our kids to the ocean every weekend and of all of the fun we would have each time the grandparents came for long visits. For the briefest of seconds, I could see his point. The ocean would be amazing, choosing a new house would be fun, living in an entirely new part of the country would be like a big vacation at first......
But then I pictured telling the kids that we were going to move again. And then I pictured the logistics of yet another cross country move. And I remembered all of the work I've done over the past 2.5 years to establish connections here- getting close with our neighbors, volunteering for hours upon hours at our schools, becoming active members of our church, joining craft groups and book clubs and small groups- and I quickly came to my senses.
We need to stay put for a while. It is the right thing to do.
A vacation to south Florida wouldn't be so bad right now, though......
No major life events have happened to us in 2.5 years and it feels a little odd that there is nothing on our horizon. Ben and I each have a little bit of restlessness as we deal with this new idea of NOT altering our lives in a big way as we approach this marker.
We like life in St. Louis. We like that the kids are establishing their roots somewhere. We like being closer to extended family. We like immersing ourselves in the culture of our schools and our church, knowing for the first time ever that we are here to stay. You approach things much, much differently when you go into a move knowing that you will only be in that new place for about three years.
We are not unhappy with our current spot in life. This status quo is a good status quo. For many reasons, I am happy to picture staying right here in this house in this little corner of the world for the next decade or so.
But wow is that a new and a little bit strange concept for us! I will admit that there is something pretty enticing about the adventure that I will miss. Each new baby to the family stole a piece of my heart and made life better. Each new move was an adventure, one that we got to take as a family. Someone said to us lately that we seem like a really tight knit family. I think our moves have something to do with that.
Ben was approached last month about a relocation to South Florida. I said a quick no, but Ben's decline was a little slower. He got sucked in to the idea of the adventure, I think, of moving our family to another part of the country and getting to experience life there. He tried to sway me (not really, but just a little....) with talk of taking our kids to the ocean every weekend and of all of the fun we would have each time the grandparents came for long visits. For the briefest of seconds, I could see his point. The ocean would be amazing, choosing a new house would be fun, living in an entirely new part of the country would be like a big vacation at first......
But then I pictured telling the kids that we were going to move again. And then I pictured the logistics of yet another cross country move. And I remembered all of the work I've done over the past 2.5 years to establish connections here- getting close with our neighbors, volunteering for hours upon hours at our schools, becoming active members of our church, joining craft groups and book clubs and small groups- and I quickly came to my senses.
We need to stay put for a while. It is the right thing to do.
A vacation to south Florida wouldn't be so bad right now, though......
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