Sunday, June 21, 2015

Crickets, be gone!

Its really has been quiet over here for a while - mostly because I started a sewing blog and that was my obsession for a bit. It actually still is an obsession, but life has dramatically gotten in the way of my sewing projects.

Life is straight up lunacy for us right now. Steve's dreams are coming true because he got himself a new Spanish teaching job....in Wyoming! In August we will be completely uprooting everything familiar with our lives and planting ourselves in the tiny town ("village" seems like a more accurate term) of Big Piney, Wyoming. Population 534. Average high temperature in January, 25 degrees. Average low in January -5 degrees. Closest Wal-Mart....2 HOURS away.

                         

People are always asking me if I am excited about our new adventure. I wouldn't say I am excited about the idea of living in the freezing cold, in the middle of nowhere, but I feel good about this move. Really good. Although I am not excited about leaving my family in Arizona and the daunting winters that lay ahead of us, I am excited about a few things such as:

  • amazing summers
  • virtually no traffic (I honestly get pretty severe anxiety in traffic, so this is a really good thing for me)
  • open spaces
  • cool summer nights
  • looking at the stars at night
  • nights that get dark, really dark (no street lights)
  • being part of a small community (I realize really becoming part of a community can take years, but its a nice thought to me)
  • experiencing 4 seasons again
  • busting out a true winter wardrobe
  • playing in the snow with our kids
  • NOT living the ghetto anymore
  • feeling safe, not worrying too much about crime
  • a much higher income
  • exploring the wilderness we will be living by
  • getting creative with making a tiny house fits our needs
We will likely be living in a two bedroom, one bathroom, small little house. The school district owns housing specifically for teachers, so they charge a really (ridiculously) low rent. Though these houses are small, I have been inside of one, and everything was updated and clean. I can do this, not forever, but I can do this.

Our house will officially be on the market tomorrow. I keep looking at the "For Sale" post in our front lawn and trying not to feel sad about leaving our home. I know I complain about living in the ghetto, but I have really loved this home and our ward. I have brought three babies home to this house -  so many, many memories.


I have also loved living within 25 minutes of 4 of my siblings and 2.5 hours away from my parents. I am really going to miss my sisters, mom, and friends. In fact, sometimes I get really sad when I think of only seeing my family once or twice a year, and my kids not really knowing my parents and their cousins on my side. Its kind of depressing for me, but I know we can't stay in Arizona with how little they pay teachers. I know this move is the right thing for our family, but I can still be a little sad about it too, right?

I have so many things on my "To Do" list I feel paralyzed when I look at it. Here's to hoping our house sells fast and our move goes smoothly and I don't cry too much when we pull out of our driveway for the last time. Okay, I might have cried a little when I just wrote that sentence. Oh boy.