On July 12 we packed up and shipped out.
Last trip to the beach.
Found the world's largest easel on our drive. If you need to locate it, it's next to Bubba's Meat Block and Bill's Shootin' Shop. Thanks Aunt Megan for coming with us!
Callum on move-in day.
The bunnies at Aunt Cathy's house. Brynn is escaping. She is not really an animal person.
Anyway, in April sometime, a recruiter for Qualtrics came looking for Greg, and we thought, why not? Let's see where this takes us. Qualtrics is a great company, and Greg has not been exactly thrilled with some things going on at JnJ lately. The whole time, I thought that there was NO WAY we'd ever actually take the job.
Well, the calls went well. The online chats went well. The in-person interview went well. Next thing I know, we get a job offer here in Provo.
Greg was happy. I was happy for Greg.
But I was not happy about moving to Utah.
So, I have to pause here. I always feel a little bit guilty when acknowledging that moving to Utah wasn't my big dream or anything like that. We both have family in Utah, and that's a really good thing, you know? Of course it's been fun being back closer to where we both grew up. It's also very nice to be back in Provo where we met and dated, and there's a special security in knowing that Austin and Daniel's resting place is close by and I can go visit them whenever I want. It's also pretty cool that there are lots more temples out here than in Florida.
But, you know what?
I liked Florida. I loved Florida. I loved the storms that came off the ocean. I loved the walls of green forests that sheltered brackish creeks and turtles and alligators and dark musty swamp earth. I loved the dragonflies as big as my palms. I loved the swelter and the night-time noises of frogs in our backyard. Once that sand gets in your bloodstream you never really get it out.
I liked having adventures. I liked being with Greg and my kids out on our own. I liked traveling up to Savannah or Charleston or Atlanta. For crying out loud, I liked our DISNEY PASSES. I'm a wandering soul. And that's the way I like it. I would move 100 times before I grow old, just to experience something new. That doesn't mean I don't want roots. Of course, I miss my friends and my beautiful home back in Jacksonville.
And that's the thing. People treat me like I have roots in Utah that I must have been dying to get back to. But I didn't. If anything, I had roots in Jacksonville. Roots in the swamp country and roots that climbed into the ocean and wanted to float forever in the waves.
"Aren't you so glad to be back home?" people ask. Well, I suppose. In some ways. But Utah was never really my home.
I always dreamed that we would make it back up to the Northeast eventually. If we were going to move, that's where I wanted to go next. Back to Pennsylvania and the 200 year old farm houses and the winding roads built on colonial wagon tracks and the weekend trips into New York City.
But now we live in Utah. And Utah is...Utah.
I'm getting used to it. I miss my house. We are renting a new little townhome in Vineyard and it's kind of terrible. I miss being a homeowner. I miss having my own yard and not having strangers walk right outside my window. But it's fine.
I have really loved being closer to family. We've already been to my grandmother's 90th birthday party and a few other things that we otherwise would have just missed out on.
But I don't think the wanderlust will ever really go away. I crave new places. I want bright shores. I want big lands. I'm already planning where we'll go next. "Home" is with Greg and Brynn and Cal. Home is somewhere else. I'm homesick, but I don't even know where "Home" is exactly. Home is a feeling, and it's not a feeling that I have here.
I was heartbroken to leave Florida. Greg loves his job at Qualtrics and it does me good to see him happy. I know that this move was the right thing for our family, but that doesn't mean it was easy.
I guess we'll see where we end up. For now, I'm enjoying the journey and we have plans to experience new things here in Utah. That's enough for now. So why am I itching to move again? Because I am, and we just got here.
