Christmas With Us, the Crazies…errr…I mean Earleys
On the 3rd day before Christmas, my true love said to me, “House is sold!” Wait, that’s not how the song goes does it? Not really. But that’s what we did anyway. Crazy facts on the day we closed on our house:
- We packed the last of our things into a U-Haul truck in 15 degree F weather! Heh-haa!
- We didn’t really know where we were going to live next. Really crazy.
Forest Of Faith
We weren’t completely insane. Yes, we sold our house, which we thought would be our forever house. No, we had no clue where we were going. But we felt compelled to leave. See? Crazy, but not insane. Ha! Ok, well here’s the thing. We knew being in New Jersey just wasn’t working out for us anymore. We fell in love with the energy of Northern California. But moving to California also meant being so far away from both sides of our families. In California, we would be on our own. And that felt really scary. But somewhere, deep in Matthew and I’s being, after having traveled in search of our new home, seeds had been planted. Those seeds had sprouted and grown into a forest – our forest of faith – a belief that there was a better life waiting for us out there. What we needed was the courage to find it.
Tears
*Fast* *Hard* *Bittersweet* After we closed on our house in NJ, we booked a room in a hotel 15 minutes away from it. We just weren’t quite ready to leave. You know how sometimes you come up with really brilliant ideas so you don’t have to think about what you really need to do?
- Let’s just buy another house down the street!
- Move to a 1 bedroom apartment in Manhattan? Sure!
- No wait, I’ve got it. Let’s move to Costa Rica!
- Where’s Alex Trebek with all his answers when you need him?!
Doing The Impossible
The day after we closed on our house, on Dec. 23rd, we drove down the NJ Turnpike and headed to North Carolina. It was one of the quietest road trips we have ever taken. We were in awe and disbelief of what we had done. Stop thinking, heart feeling. Sssh. We are leaving NJ. We are doing our impossible.
Journey’s End
My in-law’s, Matthew’s parents, welcomed us with open arms. And together, we celebrated Christmas.
