Some clarification

Okay so it's been a week since my first blog and talk about some feedback. It seems the way I worded things requires a bit of clarification. When I said we "are packing up and heading west" what I should have said is that we have decided to move west, that is, merely made the decision that we intend to do it. My poor husband has been getting all kinds of grief and farewell phone calls. It will be months before the house is ready for a sign in the yard and then we wait until the buyer arrives. No buyer, no move. We hope to make it there in 2009 but not likely before late summer. So now everyone can just take a deep breath and put off the panic for at least six to nine months.

That said, now you see how this might actually become a "crazy ride" for us. Kurt and I will spend the next couple months doing all the things to our house that we should have done soon after we moved in. We'll putty and paint, we'll sort and sell, we'll assess and arrange. The whole time cursing it all because it won't be ours for long after that. We have vowed not to let this happen in our next destination. Maybe committing to it publicly will help.

Many people have asked why we would leave our friends and family for a new place. It may seem that we are taking our two girls away from everything stable and secure but we see it differently. We see it as an opportunity to expose them to a new world. We intend to find a community that has walking paths and bike lanes so that our main mode of transportation is our feet and not the car. Believe it or not, we've actually been yelled and honked at while pulling our precious cargo in a bike trailer. Imagine the audacity of pedaling so slowly that we might actually make that particular driver two minutes late for the Starbucks drive thru. This is the attitude we're looking to shed and not our beloved peeps. We plan to take them to the mountains (okay yes, we'll have to use the car for that but you get the idea) and show them the world of snow sports. We hope they will love it as much as we do.

So the babysitter is coming on Saturday for our first day of purging. Put on your seat belts, or better yet maybe a hard hat and safety glasses.

More than a New Year's Resolution

Sorry to sound like everyone else but it's inevitable--I can't believe another year has come and gone. One of my (many) resolutions is to do the blog thing. So here it is and I'm wondering, what the hell do people want to read that they don't already. I don't think I can answer that so I guess we'll just jump on the spinning wheel and see where we land.

Much happened in 2008 but the most monumental for me was losing my Dad. He died on November 7th and it's hard to believe it has only been eight weeks since that day. In reality, my life is not much different. Our two girls keep a 24-hour clock so each day the same (albeit usually joyous) cycle repeats itself. Thankfully, I am not stuck in the house my parents shared for more than 40 years, however, my Mom is. It won't be long though before she is packed up and moved into a small condo and the only house I've ever known will belong to someone else. I can't help but wonder how many times I will pull into the driveway on my way to see Mom only to realize that she lives somewhere else now. I wonder how many of my siblings will do the same thing. Hopefully the new owner will change the locks just in case I really space out and go that extra step to put my key in the lock.

2009 will be just as monumental because my husband and I have decided to move the family to Colorado. We have wanted to do this for some time but a few factors kept the plan on hold. The main one being my Dad's health. I must admit that I have pangs of guilt because he has been in the ground less than two months and we are packing up and heading west. I can't say that he would have wanted us to go but he would definitely want me to be happy. We long for more sunshine and snow, more walking and biking, more health and happiness and this is the way we think we can get that. I think it's going to work.

It's going to be a crazy ride but one worth taking. Want to come along?