In response to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop this week…
The prompt was…
2.) What would it take for you to pick up and move?
Honestly,
Not a lot. (I am a Sagittarius, you know.)
I have always felt restless since I moved here almost 19 years ago.
I miss the ocean so terribly. I miss the jungle.
I want to see all there is to see in this beautiful world. I want my kids to see it too.
They LOVE to travel and we all can’t wait for the next vacation (the minute we get home I think.)
My family has a dream to travel the world for a full year. We want to rent a house every 3-4 months in a different area (Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, North America) and just use that as a hub to travel from for a specific time period. It is a beautiful thought that keeps me going when the days are grey.
But then I wonder…
Is this a test?
- I moved a total of 19 times in my life (about 17 or so were before I was an adult) and as a result I think I never feel like I’m “at home.”
- We never feel satisfied with what we have. (The house is too small, the yard too strange, etc.)
- My husband and I love house-hunting. A fun weekend for us is going to open houses on Sundays. (Our kids hate us for this.) We even used to take long walks when we were dating to look at houses and make mental notes of what we wanted one day.
- Should I just learn to be still?
I like my friends and my neighbors, my kids’ school and extra-curriculars. I love knowing that my family is close and that I have people I can call if I’m in a pinch.
We’ve become so established/comfortable here and didn’t even realize it.
But to me a house is just a place to rest your head, home is where my family is.
Sometimes I think we like to travel so much just because the family gets to be together for the whole trip. It makes me happy to think we like each other that much!
So,
Would I take off if you gave me a suitcase and a ticket (well, five tickets?)
Yes.
But, now I might want to come back!
I have only moved once in my life and that was when I married my husband!
I would love to travel more though especially in these rough Canadian winters *shudder*
19 moves, Michelle? Wow…I had no idea! I thought our 6 moves as a family was a lot! We love to travel, too! Traveling around the world would be such fun! Visiting different places does allow you time to really enjoy being together as a FAMILY, minus all the daily distractions.
I wonder the same things and want the same things. Great post! I moved out when I was 16 and moved probably ten times until I was 26 and haven't moved since. It's been 18 yrs. I would love to not be tied down for awhile, but I love my nest.
I have never lived outside my state, but I have a dream of selling the house when the kids go off to college and traveling for two full years, with those same 3-4 month stints in specific locations. Then come back before the kids start settling down with kids of their own.
19 times?!?! I hate moving.. I don't think I could have survived that.
I used to feel exactly like you and I moved a LOT when I was younger too. I used to travel all the time and I never thought I'd settle down and lose that restless feeling. But the past 12 years I've been in the same home and am really loving the feeling of growing roots. My husband is itching to move, as this is only his second place he's ever lived.
Sometimes I wonder 'who is this person' when I think about what a homebody I am now. I want my kids to experience the thrill of long and distant vacations and the fun of house hunting. So I guess I'll have to merge the young me and the older me and find some happy middle ground soon!
Candyn,
I so know that feeling! I've been here forever now…
I feel some of the same things. Of course I love having/decorating/living in a house I love, but I moved a lot as a kid and I would love for my kids to know what that is like – to have to learn about other cultures and not think that their view of the world is the end all and be all. We have dreams of moving overseas too… And coming back. I am curious what the future may hold.