Less than a year ago we were in a lovely home, in a lovely city, with really wonderful friends. Our families and our oldest child, a college student, were a ten hour drive away. We saw them about four times a year, maybe.
My husband had been the full time food blogger at Shaneandsimple.com for about a year, and I worked from home too. I asked a simple question “Do you see us living here another ten years?” That little question, which really just centered around the hope of a possible renovation, quickly spiraled into selling our beloved home, leaving the community we adored, and moving closer to family.
While sometimes, that spiral feels like circling the drain, I must choose to look up, look ahead, and remind myself of the many reasons we moved and why we must stay the course.
As I write today, I’m sitting on my couch in my bedroom. Before you imagine a Pinterest worthy master suite, let me paint a more accurate picture. The dressers are covered with all the lamps I own, a wall to wall built in shelf houses my beloved house plants, pictures are stacked on the floor, a mattress leans onto dresser-I have to shift it to get to my socks every morning.
Our suitcases are in the floor. The bed is unmade. The couch is at the end of my bed facing a small tv across the room that is connected to my cell phone hotspot. We are living in a renovation. No start date is confirmed, no loan has been approved. This is where we are.
Last year a quick drive took us here:
And now, a short drive takes us to a different beautiful view:
Both beautiful, and both good, yet very, very different. Was it worth the risk? Yes. I will never regret getting to see my family more often. Has it been easy? Not at all.
The Magnolia State is proving to be a refining, challenging, gift to our family.
Please keep coming back to Plant Life Today for the rest of the story. You can see how our journey in Mississippi started here.
You can read Shane’s perspective on our decision to move here.