A lot has happened since I last wrote. Honestly, sitting down and updating my blog was the last thing I had time for as our lives turned upside down. But now that things have settled and we're not fighting the clock, it's time I document the way the past 3 weeks played out for Paul and I. Now, this story will be long and it most likely won't be filled with creativity and fun word play. Sorry but this story just is what it is. Here we go...
Three weeks ago Paul and I were on the brink of going on a vacation to Charleston, SC. I was very excited to have 6 days off work and to enjoy some quality time with my husband, free from the stress of our lives. I was also very excited that our lending agent had called to say that we were scheduled to close on our house the upcoming Wednesday, the day after we returned from vacation! Finally, things were going to fall into place and everything was going to work out. Charleston was amazing and on our car ride home, Paul called the lending agent to figure out when and where to meet for closing the next day. So, there I am in the passenger seat anxiously waiting as I watch Paul's face transition from excitement to pure disappointment. Long story short, the loan fell through and we were no longer getting a house.
We were in complete shock. Not only were we not getting this house, we had to be out of our apartment in 10 days. Now, this is where our story gets a little weird. The decision we made under this type of pressure most likely is not the decision most would make. But Paul and I aren't like most.
Within 10 minutes of me crying and yelling, "What are we going to do?!" and Paul snapping, "I'm thinking!" we had come to our decision. We decided to uproot again and move out west. And it felt right. A little rushed but right. Ever since our honeymoon, we have dreamed of one day moving out towards the Rockies, where we could enjoy the beauty of snow and mountains. In all honesty, we were planning on making a big move this winter anyways, so what's a better time than when all of your stuff is already packed up and ready to go?
So the decision was made on Tuesday and the next day Paul and I put in our 2 weeks notice at work. There's no time to play around when each and every day leads you closer to homelessness. Talk about shock, for me and for everyone else. Two days ago we were going to buy a house a stay in Johnson City for a while and now in 2 weeks we're going to move halfway across the country? Things sure did change quickly. It's hard to keep up sometimes. But once again, Paul and I stayed relatively calm as we said goodbye to old plans and said hello to new ones. Things seem to go much better for us when we accept the fact that things rarely go exactly our way.
The first few days after making this decision I was a crying mess. Not only were we having to pack up the house into a PODS having no idea when we'd see our things again, we were also having to pack some suitcases for us to live out of in our homelessness. I was tore up having to say goodbye to all my friends at work and realizing just how quickly this 2 weeks were going to fly by. And the hardest part was calling my parents and asking if we could crash at their house until we made official plans, like having jobs and all. They said yes, of course, but moving back into my parent's house, even for a little while, is very depressing.
The next 9 days flew by with me working at the hospital many of the days and having to come home to an empty house that needed vacuuming, dusting, mopping and pretty much a thorough cleaning to hopefully get our deposit back. For the last week of our stay we slept on an air mattress and sat in 2 lawn chairs in the living room. We eventually had to stop cooking because all of pots and pans were packed away. Styrofoam plates and plastic cups were our saving grace so we didn't have to use our dishes. It was a little like camping but mostly like torture. But we made it through and we made it out of that apartment on Friday, just as planned.
I unfortunately had to work Monday and Tuesday so we were forced to stay in Johnson City a little bit longer despite us not having a home. Thankfully, a family from church let us stay at their empty house while they were on vacation! It's funny how when everything seems to be falling apart, some things come together perfectly.
With all that said and done, here I am writing this blog in Scottsboro, AL, sitting in my childhood bedroom while Paul searches for jobs downstairs. I feel like the unofficial theme of my blog has become "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" and that's okay. I feel like the pitfalls that we've endured over the past couple of years has really helped me grow into a much stronger and mature adult (says the girl who moved back in with mommy and daddy, haha)
But honestly, this has been a very exciting time for us. Sure it's a little scary to quit perfectly fine jobs, move back home for an undecided amount of time and hope for the best when searching for a place to move. You should see people's faces when we tell them. They smile and say, "That's so exciting" but we can see the panic in their eyes. Maybe that's how you feel, too. But don't worry about us. We're going to be alright. We've got some savings in the bank, confidence in each other and a lot faith in God that everything is going to be okay. I'm guessing this just might be our biggest adventure yet!
Love and Happiness,
Bethany
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