Crash and Burn

It would seem that, even with very careful planning, even with the very best of intentions, things can often fall apart in the matter of minutes. 

Thursday, I was having a good day. The kids and I went to the library, to the park. We did some running around. I'd started reaching out and networking within the community. Life was good. 

Thursday evening, life took a nosedive and every hope, dream, and want I had went flying out the window. 

I won't go into details, but the series of events came with one heartbreaking realization. 

We have to move back to Kentucky.

Words: ©Robert Burns Photo:©The Momisodes

As I write this, I am still currently in Michigan. My husband and two of the three kids are on their way back to Kentucky. I cried about this, tried to find every possible way to make it work here. Every idea seemed to get squashed. As I wrapped my head and heart around the fact that I had to leave, I spoke with the kids. Fear gripped my heart, because, for the 3 weeks we were here, we had our son back. Would we lose him again? I spoke to them and they got upset, then got excited to get to see their friends again.

The Hubs and I agreed that we are going to make the absolute best out of this. We are going to work harder and fight harder for dreams we have. We have an excellent two year plan set in motion. We got this. We are going to make this work.

It breaks my heart that we had to leave Michigan. I love it here. But, sometimes, life has a way of telling you that what you love isn't what you need. Or maybe it's that what we thought was love is really just desperation for a change that I need to make in myself. Time will tell. I'm just thankful that none of us were really settled in. That makes it easier to swallow this bitter pill called reality.......

Moving Is Like An Adjustable Waist.....

With every move, there comes things that you need to adjust to. You need to get use to your surroundings, you need to re-learn the layout of stores, etc, etc. There is always a period of being discombobulated and sometimes, it can feel overwhelming.

This is particularly true when you move to a new state all together. 

The are the things I am getting use to, being a transplant here in the great state of Michigan.

* The accent. It's this weird cross between city and Canadian.That's the only way I know to describe it. People also talk a lot faster up here. It takes some getting use to and you really have to listen when spoken to, so you can make sure to catch every thing.

* The roads and rules of it. The roads are TERRIBLE up here. Absolutely terrible.

I kid you not, there are signs that say Michigan is dead last in road funding. In addition to the horrible roads, there are not a lot of arrows on the lights for turning. And there are yield signs when there should be stop signs. It's very weird and somewhat confusing.

 

*Empties. Next time you pick up a can or bottle of soda, look near the barcode. See where it says MI ¢10? That means, if you return that item to the store for recycling, you will get ¢10. When you buy just about anything that you drink out of, like a can or a bottle, you pay a ¢10 deposit. You save those when you have drank the soda, beer, whatever. These are called "empties". You collect them and take them back to the store where, after putting them in this machine, you get a slip that you take and get cash back from. It is nothing to see people bringing cart loads of empties into a store. I've gotten myself in the habit of checking EVERYTHING to see if you get the deposit back or not.

 

*The sun. I know, you are thinking "what?!" Michigan is flat. There aren't many hills and no mountains around me. This results in the sun rising earlier and setting later. Seriously, 9:30 pm is practically mid-day bright around here. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it isn't dark, I can tell you that. I got up at 6:30 this morning, because it was so bright out. 

 

*The weather. It's June 10th. The high for today is 71*. 

71........

In the middle of June. Actually, June 15, it looks like the temp will be 78*. Still. It isn't sweltering hot here. Which, by the way, I love. Now, come winter, my story will probably change.

 

There is a lot more that I could write about. But I am still getting use to my surroundings, so I want to save some....there might be a part 2, who knows. I still love my area though. I love being here. I'm happy here and I love getting to explore. 

 

Isn't the adjustment part of the fun when moving?

New Beginnings

There is a cool breeze in the air, despite the fact that my Weather Channel app reads 79*. I guess this is one of the many advantages of living about 5 miles away from one of the great lakes. 

May 29, my family and I loaded up a few belongs and headed north, leaving family and friends behind in our former town of London, Kentucky. We drove through Ohio and cheered as we crossed the state line into Michigan.

After a brief stop to visit with my mother in law and my Dad's mother-in-law, we made our way further up north, where my sister-in-law was nice enough to let us stay until we found a place of our own. Her house is beautiful. It's a 4 bedroom, with 3 of the rooms upstairs. That's where we are. The Hubs and I have a room, the girls are sharing a room and Boy Child is crashing on a couch in what could be a living room. This house has quickly become my dream house. There is a huge front porch, a nice back deck overlooking a huge yard, and there is a sun room. That's where I'm at right now.

I am at peace, presently. Yes, I suppose, as someone I know put it, the shine will one day wear off this penny. But for now, I'm at peace. I sleep better. I smile more. 

I'm happy.

This is a new beginning for all of us, even The Hubs, despite this being his hometown. We can live, we can laugh. We can be and we can breath. That's really not so bad.

In Kentucky, I felt like I was suffocating. I wasn't happy there and it wasn't just because of my depression. I just wasn't happy. I never felt at peace with myself, my surroundings. My kids, my family, my health..it all suffered. I felt like a dead battery, drained of any juice to power even the tiniest of things. 

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I don't know what next month will bring. We may fall flat on our faces. But we had to try. We had to give it a go and see what happened. So far, I've really fallen in love with my surroundings and the time I've spent getting to know my husband's side of the family a little better.

I'm excited for the Fly On The Wall post in a couple of weeks (I couldn't give up my challenges as easily as I thought....), because I'll be able to share some pictures with you. 

Here's to new beginnings.......

The Sunshine in the Storm

Last week, we got a phone call that no one wants to get. My husband's 20 year old nephew was killed in a motorcycle accident. Immediately, my heart broke for my sister-in-law. No one should have to plan a funeral for their child.

On Saturday, after Boy Child's soccer game, we came home, packed up and headed to Michigan to attend the funeral and offer our support for the family. Our destination is only about 8 hours north of Kentucky (where we live). That is including time for 3 bathroom stops. 1 tank of gas got us to Michigan. Another tank got us around the suburbs of Detroit and to my husband's old stomping grounds in Port Huron.

I'd never been to Michigan. The furthest north I'd been was my birth town of Dayton, Ohio. I didn't expect, under the circumstances, to get up there and enjoy myself, but I did. I also didn't expect, once we got to Port Huron, to absolutely fall in love with the place.

But I did.

As we drove up to Lakeside Park, on the shore of Lake Huron, I felt a peace come over me I hadn't felt in a long, long time. I was giddy with excitement. We only stayed about 5 minutes, because it was cold and Lil Bit had left her jacket at my sister-in-law's house. But those 5 minutes pretty much did me in. I was hooked.

I have lived in both Kentucky and Florida. Neither place is "home" to me though. I'm pretty sure I have some Gypsy blood in me, because I have a vagabond spirit. I don't like the thought of being tied down to one place, which is probably why we haven't become homeowner's yet. But when we were in Port Huron, I just knew this was the place my heart needed to be.

After much talking and a TON of research, we have decided that we are going to move there this summer. We already have the plans set in motion. We have an apartment picked out that won't be available until we are ready to move (sign number 1 that it was destined to happen). We have all the information we need and we are playing this smart, unlike the catastrophe that was us moving to Florida in 2010. We have a plan for success that I'm excited to see come to light.

There are many reasons we are moving. There are more opportunities up there for us and the kids. There are more chances to make awesome memories. There is more culture. But one of the biggest reasons we are moving is because, for the first time in I'm not sure how long, I had my son back. I've touched, briefly, on how Boy Child is suffering from depression and anxiety. Since the last time I wrote about it, it has gotten worse. While we were in Michigan, however, I saw the little boy that he use to be. He was smiling. He was happy. He was eating. Some will argue that this was because we were on "vacation". But for The Hubs and I, it was so much more than that.

Naturally, I will keep you all in the loop about this journey. And I'm excited because I know this will bring about some growth in my writing, because I'll have more to write about than sitting around the house and cleaning. 

Here's to a new chapter for our family. 

And here's to finding happiness in an otherwise sad situation.