Owen took a whole slew of photos with my iPad yesterday. When I saw this one on the screen this morning, it took me a few seconds to figure out what was going on in it. At first I thought it was just Owen in the picture, then I realized it was both Kyle and Owen. (If you look closely you see that Owen is holding up the iPad, taking a picture of Kyle, in our messy bathroom, with the mirror in the background.) I feel like it is reflective of life for us right now. Everything is a bit confusing and scattered and it takes a few seconds to get a grip on much of what’s happening.
It is a phase of chaos and confusion for us right now as we walk through the final days of what has been a year-long journey for us. It was almost exactly a year ago that Braydon and I began exploring — in a very serious way — the idea of fundamentally altering our life. We had been talking about it for a few years, but it was October 2011 that we became very clear about actually doing something about it. And thus began the shift to: a) move onto campus via Lehigh’s Residential Fellows Program as LU’s first Faculty Family in Residence, and b) radically and dramatically downsize and rid ourselves of approximately 2/3 of our earthly possessions.
Here we are, a year later. We are 8 days from the closing date on our house (yes, that’s right). I am someone who does not believe it until it is signed, sealed, and delivered, so I won’t celebrate the house sale until 9 days from now. However, as we prepare to no longer own that house, and as we do the work to get every single item out of there, and deal with all that needs to be dealt with in a house sale, we are feeling the life shift very strongly.
It is unnerving. It feels like the earth under our feet is shifting as we try to get our footing. There is a sort of over-saturation at this point– and I feel a little numb. It takes a few extra seconds to figure out what is happening. And I know that I haven’t even begun to process everything.
I am confident that all is good, and that we are on track. But it is not completely easy.
I’ve been waiting for good news on the sale of your house. I’m thrilled for you all that it is fast approaching. I hope it’s a wonderful family who will make many happy new memories there. Looking forward to hearing about your new memories! XO
Hang in there. We will be there soon and I will help all I can… Even if it’s just giving lots of hugs!
**Hugs!** In the last year I had a big break up and moved 30 miles north on the Bay Area peninsula … even though the move was short, it took me a couple of months to re-equilibrate. But I’m here to report from the opposite side of that dip that things do get a lot easier. Be kind to yourself in the meanwhile!
I know the feeling, hang in there! All the best with closing on your old house and all else. Hope the next 7 days are as smooth as possible.
Take care,
Kate
Wishing you smooth sailing on the real estate transactions!
Hugs to you all!
Hey Heather, I am so glad you found a buyer. It must feel like a crane came and lifted a 300 ton weight off of your book-bag, so to speak LOL I know, getting used to a new lifestyle can be rough, but I’m sure you’ll all be fine. You brought two boys of a different culture into your home and rode out the waves that came with it, so if you can do that, I’m sure you’ll be used to this in no time. Keep the faith, it’s what makes everything turn out right. God Bless!!!