Georgia

Hello, Georgia! I’m settling in to life here and wake up each day grateful for the opportunity to make this move.

This move has been on my heart since May, 2019. Austin received orders to Moody Air Force Base mid-May and my heart dropped at the news. He immediately said that he would like me to join him when he moved, which brought mixed feelings. I was flattered but also knew it was early in the relationship for such a big decision. I’d also renewed my teaching contract months before for the upcoming school year. So I decided to spend the next year prayerfully discerning the move.

 Fast forward to now and I’ve made the giant leap. One of my greatest anxieties came from what to do for work. I couldn’t leave my work without some sort of income.

I wasn’t comfortable going into a teaching position without experiencing the culture of the school and knowing it was the right fit for all. My initial plan was to substitute teach for the year. However, the complication of the pandemic and virtual, hybrid, and in-person instruction variables changing frequently, I realized that it was best to set that aside as well. I spent months praying for God to place me where He wanted me. Each day closer to my final paycheck made my anxiety levels rise.

Once again, God came through and proved that He has a plan. I stumbled upon the opportunity to nanny (which I’ve done several times before) for this school year. I’m able to use my experience of teaching preschool and pre-k and love it! The situation has been exactly what I needed. I started working on the day my final paycheck came through from teaching. God is good!

Moving during a pandemic has proven to be a challenge in meeting people and exploring a new city. I have been able to meet a couple women and have at least driven around to see what places I’d like to try out.

So far, the biggest adjustment has been transitioning to a new parish. There is only ONE Catholic church in town and trying to find Catholic young adult events hasn’t been easy. Just this week, I finally stumbled into a Blessed is She women’s group at church. I popped in during the virtual meeting on Thursday and am so thankful to have some sort of parish tie and way of meeting people.

I also had the opportunity to drive with Austin to visit his family in Kentucky over Thanksgiving. He takes leave each November to hunt and see his family. Since we would be distanced from others, we went ahead with the trip. I brought Tucker and Maddie with me and he took Aspen.

The trip was so so good. Though we didn’t get to make all the stops he would have liked due to Covid, the visit exceeded my expectations.

(post in progress)

Saying Goodbye

After six years, I said goodbye to my first house. It didn’t quite end the way I’d planned. My dream was to fill it with children, with family, and with great memories. And there were some.

My goodbye was short. It was difficult but I prepared well.

My therapist once told me a story. She said that she likes to go to estate sales or garage and sales and purchase plates. She does her own therapy at home when she needs it by taking the plates, bowls, etc. and smashing them. She talked about the release of it and I tucked that idea away. Well, this move was a perfect time to try it out.

Moving from this house, I was leaving behind a lot. I was saying goodbye to some terrible memories and beginning a fresh start elsewhere. I wanted a way to make those goodbyes tangible.

So, I took a plate. The plate alone had significance. It was gifted to me at my bridal shower and was to be used for breakfast in bed. The gifter has a family tradition of bringing breakfast in bed to each family member on their birthday or special day of some kind. The whole family brings the meal to the person and sits on his/her bed. I loved this idea and dreamt of doing it with my own family. But it didn’t happen. The promise to carry on this special tradition fell by the wayside along with many other unfulfilled promises. This plate became a reminder of those.

I sat down on my last night in the house and wrote down the things I was saying goodbye to upon leaving the house the following day. Nothing fancy. Originally, I tried to toss the plate into my fire pit. However, it turned out to be fairly sturdy. So I removed it, geared up, bagged it, and took a hammer to it. No crazy screams or anything like in tv. But still, the experience was cathartic. When I finished, I took the bag of shattered pieces, and tossed it out the front porch to be disposed of with the other trash.

The following day, I climbed into a 26’ truck and closed that chapter.

The new chapter is a beautiful one. It will have a new plate. And this time, it will be used.

Final thoughts:

Healing is a process. There is no “get over it”. If there’s a death in someone’s family, there’s grieving. Somehow affairs, abuse, addictions, and desertion are expected to be kept quiet. And that’s of not help to someone going through it.

 I’ve been blessed by those that have reached out while going through similar experiences. If you’re going through it, please find someone to lean on. This is one of the loneliest roads and no one should go through it alone. I promise that it will get better.