I’m packing for a trip. My oldest boy and I are going to Alaska. We were invited for a dear friend’s confirmation. A 13-year-old boy requested that I be there-- I can’t say no to that! I lived in Alaska for almost 9 years. I was placed at an internship site in Fairbanks right out of college and I was asked to stay on. I met Andy, we got married, then came Elliot and Oliver. We packed a lot of life into those years. We lived in some weird apartments (and invited way too many people over for the space we had). We built our first house (ok, we didn’t actually do the building…). We did youth ministry together. We said hello and goodbye to so many friends.
I left my job at the church when Oliver was born. We knew we weren’t going to stay in Fairbanks forever. We wanted to live closer to our parents, who both live in the Midwest. We planned to stay in Fairbanks for a couple more years, but the housing market wasn’t great at the time and we thought it might take that long to sell our house. We decided to put the house on the market. The first people to see our house made us a full price offer. SOLD. In 6 hours.
So we moved. To Iowa. Quickly. About 5 weeks after uttering the sentence, “Maybe we should put the house on the market…” we were stepping onto an airplane. In those weeks, there was so much to do. Elliot was 3 and Oliver was just 6 months old. In flurry of packing, shuffling, rocking a baby, making arrangements, playing with a toddler, getting ready for the future, we didn’t take much time to say goodbye. I think I knew I didn’t have that kind of energy left. I didn’t try to connect with people one more time. I pushed thoughts of missing people out of my mind. My task was to get the move organized and keep it together.
But, friends, now three years later, I’m going back. I have no agenda. I just get to visit. I’m thinking about the community that we called home for the beginning of our lives together. It was a great (and weird) place to begin. I’m looking forward to Elliot meeting people, seeing places, and making connections that he has already forgotten.
It will be an awesome trip.
I left my job at the church when Oliver was born. We knew we weren’t going to stay in Fairbanks forever. We wanted to live closer to our parents, who both live in the Midwest. We planned to stay in Fairbanks for a couple more years, but the housing market wasn’t great at the time and we thought it might take that long to sell our house. We decided to put the house on the market. The first people to see our house made us a full price offer. SOLD. In 6 hours.
So we moved. To Iowa. Quickly. About 5 weeks after uttering the sentence, “Maybe we should put the house on the market…” we were stepping onto an airplane. In those weeks, there was so much to do. Elliot was 3 and Oliver was just 6 months old. In flurry of packing, shuffling, rocking a baby, making arrangements, playing with a toddler, getting ready for the future, we didn’t take much time to say goodbye. I think I knew I didn’t have that kind of energy left. I didn’t try to connect with people one more time. I pushed thoughts of missing people out of my mind. My task was to get the move organized and keep it together.
But, friends, now three years later, I’m going back. I have no agenda. I just get to visit. I’m thinking about the community that we called home for the beginning of our lives together. It was a great (and weird) place to begin. I’m looking forward to Elliot meeting people, seeing places, and making connections that he has already forgotten.
It will be an awesome trip.
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