Life in Two Time Zones

Have been feeling a bit fragmented during the past month. We took a huge leap and we purchased a home in the town where we hope to eventually retire. All this thinking of slowing down and taking life a bit more easy is highly contagious. It makes me almost yearn for the next few years to pass quickly, which according to my sainted grandmother is "wishing your life away" and a huge no-no! So I am not going to focus on that in this post, but rather on what this choice represents for Ed and I.

Our new house is six hours away from where we presently live and work. It is to be a vacation/holiday house until the time comes when we can move there permanently. I am really excited in that this is the first time we have actually chosen where we want to live.

In our profession, Lutheran teaching, you go where you are "called" to be and that could take you anywhere. Often it is in a direction away from what is familiar or what is near family. So for 40 years of our married life we have done just that. We have lived 35 of those years where we presently are, but it wasn't a place we chose for ourselves. We came here because we were asked to come here, felt it was where we could serve, and we stayed. But we miss the North.

Michigan, with its lakes, beaches, and winter snow,  will always be "home" to us. One of our daughters and her family live in the town where we will be retiring. The new house is a little smaller than our current house. Going to be downsizing and are pretty excited to think about that. It's all a new and somewhat strange way to be thinking about the future while still fully functioning in our current roles and employment.

The new house is in a different time zone both literally and metaphorically speaking. Where we presently live is our life full of schedules, demands, and commitments. Where we will live in the future is a wide open and rather unstructured lifestyle with the freedom to do as we please and to enjoy times with our extended family. I am so grateful that we are at a point where we can do this. It feels like we have "plans" and some direction for our coming years. God-willing there will be many happy times spent in our new home even as we wait to get to live there permanently. One week from today we sign the papers and the adventure of "two time zones" officially begins! Praying that it will be blessed in many new and exciting ways as we transition into it!