We put our old house on the market a month and a half ago and it has already closed, papers signed and keys exchanged. We took a big hit and had to use a big chunk of savings (we are super savers and have almost no debt so we have a future land fund left over after all of this), not including our emergency fund and retirement accounts.
But.
It has all been so worth it. Living in the old house, I took feeling unsafe for granted. It was always just in the back of my head that there were people looming close by who could hurt me or my babies. It was causing way more stress than I even realized. Living here now, I feel 20 pounds lighter (I am not actually 20 pounds lighter unfortunately). I hardly even worry. I don't even lock my car. I never look over my shoulder.
Our new house is a bit bigger. It has a room for you Brynn which is so nice because you had been in our room for the past 9 months and honestly, we were all ready for a bit more space. It is in a quiet, family oriented neighborhood with nice people (this is also very new, at the old house the only interaction I had with our neighbors happened when our dog ran onto his property and I ran after her and he almost shot me for trespassing!).
But beyond the beauty of this town (seriously, gorgeous) and the streams of kids walking through our neighborhood to and from school and the friendly shops, something else magical happened.
We totally unplugged. We had to. The internet people could not come out for almost two weeks and we never even bothered hooking up the tv. But this forced choice has become a most welcome breath of fresh air.
Social media had become a bit of an addiction for me. A distraction from my babies and from mothering. I would wake up with the girls in the morning, and turn the tv on first thing to Elle's favorite show. It gave me quiet time. And I thought I needed that. But one show would turn into three shows and before long, we were all still in jammies at noon and I felt like a slug raising baby slugs. If the tv was off, I was frantically checking facebook or my message board. Trying so hard to avoid dealing with being a mama. This was of course a bit of depression I now am realizing. Our life felt out of control because we were so stuck and unhappy in our house with our two wrecked cars!
So I used the move as a chance for change. Elle, you started sleeping in your big girl bed and in the morning, instead of turning on the tv (still not hooked up despite internet being installed), we eat breakfast and play on the floor. Or now that the weather has been so nice, we have been playing in the yard and having turkey sandwich picnics. The weirdest thing, is that Elle, your behavior has really improved. We were way out of wack and no one was getting what they really needed.
Despite the return of the internet, I make it a point to stay off my computer until both you girls are in bed. I limit my internet phone checks despite the temptation of instagram (I do love thee instagram). And I am much, much happier. I think we are all a bit to additcted. A bit too distracted. A bit too worried about keeping up, updating and following the people in our social networks when the network that really matters, like the smallest member of my mine, cries for our attention.
The past two months have been both the hardest and the happiest. The place you call home, your community, really makes a difference. I am glad I followed my instincts and made the choice to move. And the move to unplug. Turns out, I was missing a lot more than I am not checking facebook.
Pictures of recent yard adventures.
Brynn the explorer
And Elle as Katniss Everdeen.
