Starting over as empty nesters

A sign was staked into our front yard today. For Sale.

When we first moved to the Midwest, I’ll be honest, it was disorientating.

We are West Coasters. This place is so far from home.

With time, it became home. We stopped dreaming of moving back, accepting that we were here, and embracing the now.

The longing though, it never left. We’ve missed weddings, graduations, birthday parties, holidays. The normal cadence of what we were brought up with.

A few months ago, a series of unexpected phone calls ended with an opportunity for my husband.

A chance to move West

Every detail of this offer blew our minds, really.

Those calls were so surreal, we felt it could only be God’s hand in this situation.

That doesn’t mean we weren’t filled with anxiety, wondering if we were crazy.

What if we were missing something? What if it was a financial disaster? How would we make new friends at this age? What if our family didn’t have time to fit us into their lives? After all, we’ve been gone awhile.

The excitement of being part of our family fabric again was, is, exhilarating. The “what-ifs” though, as you can imagine, made our decision scary.

Even when we hear God clearly, it doesn’t mean we won’t struggle to say yes.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach our eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience” — Eleanor Roosevelt

Are there doubts and fears? Heck yes! We’ve made a lot of moves. Some good, some extremely difficult. After weighing the pros and cons to the best of our ability?

It is time for faith-full action.

We are jumping in with both feet. Ready to see what the next phase of life holds for us.