PackUpandGo

Rocking Chairs

Whenever anyone talks to me about moving to Nashville, their first question is always, “How are your parents taking this?” I thought I would take the time to address this question. My parents mean the world to me.  My favorite nights are when Andrew and I go to my parents and watch HGTV and eat pizza and brownies. My mom and I always go out for random shopping trips and my dad and I spend our Saturdays in the summer at junk yards. To say we are close would be an understatement. They are not the kind of people that would stand in the way of our dreams, but they are definitely sad. They have had their moments of “Holy crap, you are actually leaving…” and “You better have rocking chairs on your porch since you will be in the south!”

I can’t tell you enough about my mom. She is one of the coolest women you could ever meet. She is always helping everyone around her and is a huge part of the community. I admire her strength, courage and her love for others. If you drive through Walkerton, you would know her house by the beautiful landscaping that she has worked so hard on through the years. She is who I get my creativity from and my love for decorating shows! I went into teaching because I have watched her work with children all of my life and been in awe of her compassion and patience. She made my childhood incredible. God matched us perfectly. I am who I am because of her. The biggest compliment someone can give me is that I remind them of my mom.

Knowing my mom, she would not appreciate a picture of her on here. But maybe I will try and sneak one someday! 

When asked in my interview for my current teaching job, who is your hero, I got choked up when I answered, my dad. (I couldn’t believe I still got hired after crying in my interview!) He has been through a lot and is even stronger because of it. Our family has had our ups and downs like most families, but our love for each other has sustained us. My dad puts 150% into everything he does and takes meticulous care of everything he owns. He can fix anything. I mean it. He can completely re-wire a Jeep, build a motorcycle from parts or fix a washing machine, just don’t give him a computer…haha! He knows everything about cars and has instilled in me his love for anything with a motor. The best summer of my life was working on a 1972 Jeep CJ-5 with my dad. We would spend hours in the driveway working on that thing even after the air filter caught on fire and when it continued running after we pulled the key out of the ignition. He believed in me and knew I could do whatever I put my mind to. He believed in me even after I almost ran him over…Don’t ask. Words can’t describe the love I have for my father. 

Leaving them makes me sick to my stomach and at times makes me think I cannot do this. Despite the excitement of this new adventure, I have had some pretty rough days. We are leaving everything behind. We don’t have jobs lined up, we don’t have a home to live in, and we won’t know anyone down there… People think we are crazy, I know. Andrew and I are two of those people. The fact that we are so incredibly happy here with fantastic friends and wonderfully close family members, tells us even more that this is a God thing and we need to move to Nashville. Last year when we first entertained the idea, we wanted to get away from everything and start fresh. It just feels right now and if you have read my other posts, you know that God has been encouraging us the entire way. This is scary and sad, but adventures would be boring if there weren’t bumps in the road.