As I've shared in previous posts, we began reconsidering our financial/home/work/play position about a year ago. With a home mortgage and land mortgage, we were fairly tied to two full incomes. Life felt crazy busy, and that was with one child only. We were frustrated at fitting in exercise, individual time, couple time, and enough time with K. Isn't that the continual struggle for working families everywhere?
We talked a lot. We put a lot of ideas on the table. Brandon suggested selling our house and living in an Airstream. I told him 'no way'. We talked some more. I told him 'maybe', if we got the idea totally planned out first. We finally came to a conclusion of sorts, with much left to be determined. We agreed that something needed to change financially, that I should head towards part-time work, and that we were terrified of ruining our credit by walking away from the land property. With those agreements in place, we both felt urged to put our house on the market.
People kept asking us "where are you going when your house sells?" To be totally honest, we didn't know. We had ideas, but they were just that. We both were somewhat counting on the weird market at the pass, thinking we had time to figure it all out...but we didn't have much time at all. We scrambled to solidify our ideas into an actual plan, and landed in an RV park in an Airstream. The next month was a blur of stress, grief, loss, regret, and worry.
God only told us step one of the plan: put your house on the market. I felt pretty confident in the Airstream decision too (yes, God spoke to us both, saying "Buy an Airstream"). But, neither of us were all that happy with living in an RV park. The other night, I drove past our old home on my way to a friend's house and was filled with such sadness. The ski slopes were bright green, like the hills in Switzerland. Alpenglow lit up Chikamin peak and Rampart ridge. When the sun went down, it was so dark, except for the beautiful stars. I looked at our old home with longing. Why did we leave? I wondered. To live in a tiny trailer in a crowded, creepy RV park with no outdoor space?
Yesterday, we finally got excited for our new home plan! In one of many conversations I have had with friends, coworkers, and acquaintances, someone suggested that we check out a local 52-acre camp for parking. I had never heard of the place but immediately looked it up and arranged to visit. We walked the grounds yesterday with the owners and were so thrilled. It is a beautiful flat meadow, with mountains surrounding, tons of wildlife, private wooded trails, and loads of quiet. The owners were really nice and I immediately felt this is where we are supposed to be.
There are details left to be determined, still. However, we now know where we will be parked during work months and it is a great home-base. We might not want to leave to build a home. This whole situation has been a reminder of trust, faith, stepping out of comfort, and accepting change. We have moved beyond stress, grief, and regret...now, we are excited.
Stay tuned. :)
