We’re Moving!

I’ve been quiet of late. I’d like to say it’s because I’ve been buried under writing A Harmony for Steve, but that wouldn’t be true. My husband was offered a new job in another part of the state. We’ve traveled there twice in the past several weeks for interviews and preliminary planning. We’ve talked to schools, looked at houses, talked to movers, and arranged home inspections with a Realtor.

Then, the two of us went away, alone, and spent the last week praying about the decision. When we came back home, Gregg put his resignation notice in at his job and solidified the arrangements.

Now, we’ve started packing. The kids’ last day of school is December 18th. At 8:30 that morning, the movers will arrive and load our household up, then cart it across the state to our new home on Fort Knox Army post, near Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

Gregg and I are both Army brats. I’ve lived in this house for 8 years, and it’s the longest either one of us have ever lived in the same house. We brought our youngest son home from the hospital to this house, and he’s 7 now. Despite the ties to church and community we have here, we are thrilled to be moving onto an Army post, where Gregg will work 2 miles from our home and our children can grow up in an environment similar to the one in which we grew up.

Despite our excitement, nothing about this move will be easy. We have an 18-year-old college Freshman at a local college whom we’re moving into an apartment. We have a 9-year-old autistic son whose OCD tendencies make him absolutely terrified of something “different” or “new”.  And our 7-year-old is very social and already mourning the thought of leaving his friends and classmates behind.

I should have finished A Harmony for Steve by now. I’m about 10 chapters away from finishing it, but haven’t spent any time on it in a few weeks. I’d promised it before the end of the year, but I’m positive that I cannot make that deadline now. I have a million details to see to, and the more that I pack and manage, the more chaotic my environment becomes. I have a hard time creating in chaos, and I have I hard time focusing on fiction when there are other things overwhelming me. Instead of stressing it, I’ve made the decision to just put it on hold until after the move, after Christmas break. Once we are settled into the new home and the kids go back to school, I’ll be able to refocus on my writing in my way.

In the meantime, I’ll be penning a series of articles on moving with a child on the autism spectrum. I may pen a few articles about how our nest suddenly became 1/3 lighter as we settle our daughter into her new home. And I’ll be digging up articles on decorating and organization as we empty this house and fill another.

I saw a sign once that absolutely resonated with the Army brat inside of me. It said:

Home is wherever you are.

My prayer is that this new home will be a place of security and comfort for our children, that the walls will be bursting with laughter and prayers, and that we grow to love our schools and community.

I’m so grateful for your visit, today.
You would bless me if you added me to your feed reader or subscribed via email.
You can also become a fan on Facebook or follow me on Twitter. I would love to see more of you!