Author: Lana

Our kids were both living their best lives in the west, our parents had passed, and we (okay, I) kept asking ourselves (myself) why we were still in the Midwest. My husband is more the Grow Roots model and I am the odd one who enjoys change. I was ready to move west when my daughter told us she was pregnant, 5 years ago. Finally, after one particularly poignant experience in early August, Hubs decided he was ready to make the big move.

We pulled out a calendar and made a plan. We had lived in our current home for 32 years, so this was not going to be any easy task. We gave ourselves 3 months to purge our worldly belongings, pack a rented 16′ POD, our own 16′ box trailer, both cars, and our Airstream. We thought we would get our house on the market, head west, and live in our Airstream until our house sold, then begin the serious search for our new digs.

Oh, the purging…the decisions…the photos…the memories…the furnishings…last visits with friends…placing ads, Goodwill trips, give aways…all during a national pandemic. I sold my longarm, as well. Since we were moving ourselves, I was not too comfortable moving it such a long distance and we didn’t really have room for it, either. I would buy a new one, once we got settled in our new place. We have several friends who have sold or given away everything to live full time in their RV. I could never quite grasp the giving possessions away, but now I fully understand. I got to the point where I just wanted someone to take all the stuff away, because that’s all most of it is – just stuff. It feels so freeing to only have the important things with us and to know we have not left that for our kids to do.

One thing, then another, and another, and before the end of the three months of purging, we were under contract for our current home and had an offer accepted on a house in the state of Washington sight unseen. I can explain. Not really. It’s totally crazy! We hit the road in our Airstream before the end of the three months headed for a friend’s backyard in Oregon to live until both homes closed.

We stopped for a few days at our son’s home in Colorado. It was a nice respite after a rapid fire 3 months. We just needed to chill and it was the perfect place to do so.

But onward to Oregon and the 7 acre backyard to be our home for a month until our new home closed. It was the perfect, peaceful place.

Fortunately, our daughter and SIL had been able to attend the home inspection for us and gave us the green light. Hubs flew back to the Midwest (during a notional pandemic, remember) to drive our car and 16′ box trailer, the last of our possessions, westward.

The first week of December we were moving in and making a new house our home. The Pandemic provided us a big block of uninterrupted time to settle in, even though we were anxious to meet our new neighbors. The sum total of furniture we brought with us consisted of 2 chairs, 4 tv trays, 2 lamps, a queen mattress, and a refrigerator. We purchased the master BR suite, a wardrobe, a day bed, and a foosball table from the previous owners. Any additional furnishings were purchased through Costco online delivery or Amazon, because we were not comfortable shopping during the Pandemic. Having said that, we did buy our dining room furniture from individuals online because it was exactly what I wanted.

So now we are living our best lives in the west and it is SO nice to be closer to family and watching our youngest grandson grow up.