I remember sitting before the NFL draft listening to Vince and our family and friends talk about the potential places we could be moving to. As a warm weather lover, I was putting my chips in places that fit that category. (Ironically writing this from Miami now). Vince had never spoken with the Green Bay Packers prior to the draft, so when people suggested we’d stay in Wisconsin, we kind of laughed it off.
Well, the joke was clearly on us when that reality became true and we saw ourselves unloading the Uhaul only an hour or two north in Green Bay.
Conveniently, Green Bay was the perfect middle spot from our families. I’m from the Milwaukee area and Vince is from central Wisconsin. So it was about 2 hours even to both families. We were “away” from home, but close enough to visit on a bye weekend (or for me, a week day).
A year or so passed and we found ourselves now living in New Orleans, Louisiana. Never would’ve guessed that one. Oof that was a toughy for me at first. Newly pregnant, in shock from the move, and living in a city that I didn’t know a soul.
That was a really lonely time for me. Probably one of the lonliest times I’ve experienced. Gosh, we lived in the nastiest little apartment. It had one window that looked onto a brick wall. It smelled of humid rot and smoke. It’s SO easy to look back and laugh now. Honestly, I can’t believe we did that to ourselves. But wowza. That was an interesting start.
In those quiet, sometimes tear-filled moments, what I didn’t know was that God was refining me. He was molding me to become who He needed me to be next. He was drawing me closer to my husband before we brought another life into this life. In the moment it was so hard to see, but now looking back it all adds up.
So fast forward another year or so, and I found myself unpacking yet another moving truck. This time, with a 4-month old strapped to my chest in the Florida heat. Yeah, never saw that one coming either lol. But, alas, here we are.
You’d think since I had a baby, I wouldn’t feel as alone as I did in the quiet of our New Orleans apartment, but oh was I wrong. It brought a whole new quiet. Yes, I was taking care of a beautiful little soul, but I was also not able to venture out on my own and get the lay of the land like I did pre-baby.
In those quiet, sometimes tear-filled moments, what I didn’t know was that God was refining me, yet again. He was (and is) molding me to be who He needs me to be.
What I’ve learned living away from home is that I’m a heck of a lot stronger than I ever knew I could be. Spending holidays alone, raising a baby without “my village,” missing out on family get togethers has actually been widely beneficial. It’s given me the time to truly, and I mean truly, sit down and ponder what it really is I want out of life. It’s given me the time to build my character, to learn more about my personality and to build a rock solid foundation of faith. It’s brought my little family together in indescribable ways.
People ask me all the time, "where do you want to live one day?" And I cannot answer that question because as soon as I have a plan, you guys can clearly see it never goes how I expect it to.
While I don’t know exactly what the future holds, I do know that without moving away from home, I’d never be the person I am today. And for that, I’m grateful.
