Goodbye Georgia, Hello Ohio

It's now been two weeks since we packed all our belongings into the back of a moving truck and drove eight hours from Georgia to Ohio.

We've spent these past two weeks tying up loose ends with turning off all our utilities and closing on the sale of our house (which went off without a hitch last week!), finishing up a couple of writing assignments, setting up our new temporary home with family. My husband started his new job and all the training that entails, and Claire has gotten used to all the attention she gets from having family to play with her practically around the clock! We're looking into getting a second car (to make it easier to get around and visit all that family and friends!)

All that to say, there has been lots going on. Particularly on top of a month spent packing everything into boxes, it's been luxurious to have time to unwind from that, to not have to worry about washing every dish or making every dinner and simply spend time catching my breath.

Of course it has been bittersweet to leave Atlanta behind: That is where my husband and I pretty much started our marriage and found our way—at times, stumbling and shaky—through newlywedhood. It's where we went through the ups and downs of finding jobs and watching God provide for us in unbelievable ways. It's where we found a church family that was there for us and supported us through all the twists and turns that came during those four years. It's where we got to spend holidays with my husband's family and celebrate the birth of our first niece, who's only three years older than Claire and gives us a glimpse into what all is to come. It's where we had our own bundle of joy just six months ago. It's where life grew us for four rich and full and fulfilling years.

I came across this quote from Richard Wright and thought it was fitting for this changing of seasons we're wading through:

I was leaving the South
To fling myself into the unknown...
I was taking a part of the South
To transplant in alien soil,
To see if it could grow differently,
If it could drink of new and cool rains,
Bend in strange winds,
Respond to the warmth of other suns
And, perhaps, to bloom.

Of course, Ohio has always been home to me. But still, those little pieces of the South will be held dearly as we make our way here and recreate our new normal, savor this new season, and celebrate the changes that are and are yet to come.

Related Posts
A New Place to Call Home and Lessons Learned in Moving
Learning to embrace where God was calling me

{ photo source }