Life is straight up lunacy for us right now. Steve's dreams are coming true because he got himself a new Spanish teaching job....in Wyoming! In August we will be completely uprooting everything familiar with our lives and planting ourselves in the tiny town ("village" seems like a more accurate term) of Big Piney, Wyoming. Population 534. Average high temperature in January, 25 degrees. Average low in January -5 degrees. Closest Wal-Mart....2 HOURS away.
People are always asking me if I am excited about our new adventure. I wouldn't say I am excited about the idea of living in the freezing cold, in the middle of nowhere, but I feel good about this move. Really good. Although I am not excited about leaving my family in Arizona and the daunting winters that lay ahead of us, I am excited about a few things such as:
- amazing summers
- virtually no traffic (I honestly get pretty severe anxiety in traffic, so this is a really good thing for me)
- open spaces
- cool summer nights
- looking at the stars at night
- nights that get dark, really dark (no street lights)
- being part of a small community (I realize really becoming part of a community can take years, but its a nice thought to me)
- experiencing 4 seasons again
- busting out a true winter wardrobe
- playing in the snow with our kids
- NOT living the ghetto anymore
- feeling safe, not worrying too much about crime
- a much higher income
- exploring the wilderness we will be living by
- getting creative with making a tiny house fits our needs
We will likely be living in a two bedroom, one bathroom, small little house. The school district owns housing specifically for teachers, so they charge a really (ridiculously) low rent. Though these houses are small, I have been inside of one, and everything was updated and clean. I can do this, not forever, but I can do this.
Our house will officially be on the market tomorrow. I keep looking at the "For Sale" post in our front lawn and trying not to feel sad about leaving our home. I know I complain about living in the ghetto, but I have really loved this home and our ward. I have brought three babies home to this house - so many, many memories.
I have also loved living within 25 minutes of 4 of my siblings and 2.5 hours away from my parents. I am really going to miss my sisters, mom, and friends. In fact, sometimes I get really sad when I think of only seeing my family once or twice a year, and my kids not really knowing my parents and their cousins on my side. Its kind of depressing for me, but I know we can't stay in Arizona with how little they pay teachers. I know this move is the right thing for our family, but I can still be a little sad about it too, right?
I have so many things on my "To Do" list I feel paralyzed when I look at it. Here's to hoping our house sells fast and our move goes smoothly and I don't cry too much when we pull out of our driveway for the last time. Okay, I might have cried a little when I just wrote that sentence. Oh boy.
