Imagining a different life.

Imagine a different life.
It's not that hard to do and you probably have too at one time or another.  It's been a year since we, my family and I moved away from the life we knew in northern Michigan.  One year. Hard to believe.  The discussion of moving came up a number of times but were always transferred to the back of our minds.  The thought of the work it would take to make such a move seemed impossible, there would be so many changes, too many changes.  The question of how to do it didn't last long once the decision was made.  No, the question was no longer, "how?" it was, "get it done!"  The steps began arranging themselves it seems to me now.  One by one we climbed each step with determination.  I have some fond memories of the transition.  Cleaning out and purging was probably the most refreshing thought that comes to mind.  Picking out new paint colors, new carpet, and deciding where the furniture would go in my new home still brings a smile to my face.  The natural light coming from the east and west streaming sunshine through my house all morning and afternoon is something I'm beyond grateful for.  Yes, memories from the transition are fond memories.  Trips to and from our home as we slowly carted our house car load by car load to the new life we imagined were full of conversation and hopeful possibility.  "Camping out" in our new home as painters and electricians moved about.  Watching my daughter find new joy and new friends while perfecting her love for cheer.  My son joining up with a new slew of hockey lovers and skating in a rink he'd always loved that contains family history.  The transition had many happy, unexpected happy moments.  Of course the flip side of that brings back the memories I have of our past life which make me contemplate the entire event.  If I let my mind run away with the scenario it can't comprehend how we could make such a move.  Up root our kids from all they'd ever known.  The love they had for their home and community.  How easy it was for us to up and leave.  If that were only true.  It's not.  It's where our memories reside as well.  At one time our little place in northern Michigan was completely new.  It too was a brand new adventure.  So much to explore, so much to see and experience and we did, we did it all til it became to much of the same.  The same, the same, the same.  Many would say there's peace in that.  There's a calming in knowing what happens as the months on the calendar flip by.  I'm not denying that.  In fact I think that's why it took us so long to make the move.  We knew what lied a head at any given moment.  We knew what to expect.  Of course some of what we had to expect revolved around cold, snowy, stuck inside winter months.  So I'm happy, we're happy and I believe we are all better from the move.  It doesn't change the fact that our life and memories with our children all began in that little town, in that little house on that perfect little street in northern Michigan.  It doesn't tarnish our memories it makes them even more precious.  Now when we travel back we appreciate the beauty more than we ever did before.  We soak up the sights and sounds and see it from an entirely new perspective.  We are grateful for the time we spent and we surely say, "Thank you" in our minds for all it gave to us. It gave us friendships and beauty.  It gave us moments of sheer joy and heartfelt moments we embrace.  It gave us a sense of community and reminded us family togetherness all started in that little place on the map of Michigan.

It's weird how our minds would love to sit in a state of loss or feel melancholy.  I try to redirect my mind when it wants to go back to moments in our home up north.  I think of happy moments and little toddlers playing on the floor in my living room surrounded by toys.  I flash back on friends and play dates and parties I threw.  I wonder how life drops people from your life not always with your permission.  I think back to my golden and my lab hanging out on the front lawn, or my little boy pushing his plastic lawn mower to be just like his daddy.  I miss my flowers too but it's not so unreasonable that we chose a new life, a different life.  People move all the time.  Some move and move and move.

One word that seemed prevalent in our lives was the word stagnant.  We knew our lives were stuck in a stagnant rut.  We realized a couple of years before making the move that we had done everything we wanted to do in our community and those around us.  Somethings we had done again and again, over and over.  We realized we were no longer experiencing new things.  We realized we were bored of the same things year after year.  We'd come to realize the pictures in our minds of any upcoming event would unfold to be just that, the same.  Nothing new.  All the same things year in and year out.  We knew what the Christmas season would bring, or how the day of the 4th would play out.  We knew how the spring would reveal itself slowly, and in most cases too slowly.  We were on a continuous yearly cycle that had become dull.

I think it took a lot of bravery for us to shake things up in our lives to the extent we did.  To think we could look at the challenge a head and instead of saying, "Our life is good here."  We decided to experience a new life elsewhere.  We imagined a different life.  New jobs, new schools, new doctors, dentists, eye doctors. New surroundings.  New shopping centers and oil change guys.  New everything.  I can tell you that it's been a wonderful decision.  Life is good here and our lives are no longer dull or stuck in a rut.  We explore again, we find new places to have dinner, new venues to sit and watch events unfold.  We take our boat out on the Muskegon River which I never imagined.  We feel apart of a new community and because it's our childhood community, where our roots were established and our old memories reside, we feel an additional sense of home.

Don't be afraid to envision a different life.  Life is too short to get into, "the same old routine"  life is about awakening your senses and seeing new possibilities for adventure and connections.  We'll never replace our memories from our past life, they are much to precious to ever forget but our new daily life has changed us for the better and everyday a new possibility reveals itself.  Life is good, God is good, and I'm thankful.

S.