You Say Goodbye, I say Hello

Growing up I moved around a lot. I changed schools, moved cross country (twice) and never really stayed in one place for an exceptionally long period of time. My husband grew up an air force brat, moving around as well. When we got married we lived in Cincinnati, OH for 2 years before moving to Charlotte, NC.  Charlotte originally was a quick stop off on our 5 year plan to move out west, and we hadnt anticipated growing to love the queen city as much as we did.
5 years quickly flew by, which turned into 10, then 15, then 20.  21 years we were in Charlotte. TWENTY.ONE!!!
  We raised our boys in our house, we had so many wonderful memories and friends and even some family. all those years ago We never really understood that having permanent roots in an area was going to be so important to us. Last year we came out to Idaho for my in-laws 60th wedding anniversary party/family reunion.  All 10 of their kids were going to be present at one time, a feat which hadnt been accomplished in many many years. We made the trip out west, taking extra time to travel around the various parks and sights to see. We had the opportunity to get to Boise on 4th of July and stay with my old college roommate and her family. We went to their little hometown parade and then that night the fireworks.  I remember at the parade just feeling so at home and saw how much fun my boys were having and what a great close knit community it was.  I was blown away by how much people went out of their way to be friendly, putting Southern Hospitality to absolute shame!  I was shocked at the level of participation in 4th of july festivities, and the fireworks were some of the best I had seen in years. I remember back then having the feeling that we were going to move out there. I told my feelings to my husband and he said he felt the same way.  However, we had many obstacles in our way that would prevent us from moving to Boise in the near future.  We had Peters healthcare to consider.  We had to sell our old fixer upper house.  We had to find a place to live. We had to leave our jobs that we LOVED, and leave people and a place we had been for almost our entire marriage and almost half of my life. We agreed to put a pin in it and revisit down the road and see how things would go.
3 months later Peter passed away, our area became the HOT market for housing, allowing us to sell our house as is for a huge profit, and things at my job became unstable and really miserable.  All the obstacles we had eroded away and allowed us to think about the move.  Then COVID hit, and I was home from work for 10 weeks, which allowed me to dejunk, declutter and pack up. We sold our house in 6 days for asking price, packed up the pod and drove out west.  Everything fell into place.  We are currently living with our in laws for a month until we get jobs and get into our own place.  We have family 1 block away, and Finn has a cousin 2 months younger than he is to hang out with.   Everything was so smooth.

My boss from my old job got in touch with me and told me I left at just the right time because everything in our center was falling apart and it was going to hell in a handbasket.  I really felt like God was pushing us to make this move, and hearing that really solidified our resolve.

how are we supposed to put 23 years of our life in a 16x8x8?

look how hopeful and naive we are

day 1- this pod was STUFFED FULL by day 5!.

We used PODS to pack up our stuff and drove out in our cars.  35 hours, 1 dog, 2 cats, 2 snakes.  We broke it up into 4 days. I was worried about driving with animals, but they were champs and have acclimated to their new home rather well!

Now that we are here, it is kind of weird. I keep saying "back home" when referring to NC, and keep thinking that we are going to have to go back.  It's kind of weird. I know this is home, but it still hasnt hit me yet.  I am so happy with our decision, but know that it will take a little getting used to.

So Goodbye Charlotte.  Hello Boise!!