This summer we made some major life changes! Here’s an update 💛

We moved back to our home state, Maine!

We made the big decision to make a major life shift and move back to our home state, Maine. Our old house will be rented for the year while we test out this new area and house and decide if this will be a permanent move for us. This was a difficult decision as New Hampshire had been our home for the past fifteen years and we left behind the kids schools, some really close friends, rental properties that we need to learn to care for from a distance and an area that we loved. 

This move to an outsider probably looked insane. We left behind our beautiful 2300+ square foot home, in the perfect cul de sac neighborhood, with top test scoring schools, to into a 100 plus year old 1,100 square foot house with a one bedroom apartment attached in the back. 

Although our old life looked pretty perfect to others it didn’t feel right to us.  We weren’t particularly happy, even though we should have been. Anika was the one who made me aware of this. We have this framed quote hung on the wall, “Together they built a life they loved.” Anika, one day asked me about it. I explained what it meant and she said something like it was kind of silly that we had that. When I asked her why, she said because it wasn’t really true.

This comment from my eight year old daughter was like a jump into a frigid lake for my nervous system. It gave me the clarity that I needed. I knew that we weren’t entirely happy but thought it was ok, that we were doing the right thing, because this life we created for the kids was comfortable and good for them. This statement from her made me think otherwise. This was not the life lesson I wanted to be teaching my children about self care.

So we decided to start over from scratch. To begin again and this time find the life that was a good fit for us. We hit the reset button and decided to go back to the start and are now figuring out what we want our lives to be. Intentionally adding things back in as we go. Our goal is this time actual “together build a life we love”. The house and life that fits us and what we really want for at this stage in our lives.

We are homeschooling this year!

We are homeschooling this year! This is something that I have considered doing for a long time and something Anika has always wanted. We figured while we are going through this transition and deciding where we would more permanently be, this would be the perfect time to give it a try.

We are a month in and so far so good. I have already learned so much about this world. I’ve made some mistakes, we’ve had some bad days, but also had some really good days. I’m loving this new experience and I am so grateful I have the opportunity to do this with my children right now. 

I turned 40!

Some highlights of the day included…

💛First thing in the morning phone calls from my dad and my mom and stepdad to wish me happy birthday. After everything we went through with my dad last year I do not for one second take for granted the fact that I have my parents on this earth to call and wish me happy birthday. 

💛A surprise birthday package from one of my best friends in the whole world and the biggest thing I miss about New Hampshire.

💛Texts and calls from close friends that I have had to honor of collecting along the way in this life, one has been with me since childhood and one was my first mommy friend and confidant. 

💛A couple of days spent with my little family that included…

Watching Jake score his first soccer goal in his first soccer game ever

My birthday gift from my husband this year was a brand new LL Bean coat that is the absolute warmest thing I’ve ever owned. Bring it on Maine winter!

Life is good and I am so grateful. Yay 40!

Final thoughts on the move

This move on the outside looked crazy, so much so that our mortgage broker required my husband to write a letter explaining ourselves because as he put it, “no one is going to believe this is for real.” 

It looked like we were giving up so much. But it didn’t feel like that too me, all I could see is what we were going to gain. The biggest thing being more time. A smaller house and yard meant less time maintaining it and more time to do other things. More time with family, our little crew and extended family closer to us now.  More time to take on other things that we always wanted to try, like homeschooling. More time to travel and have adventures in our new area and further away should we choose. 

We’ve been in our new home about a month and we couldn’t be happier. It’s been crazy how quickly we have fallen in love with this creaky old sunshine filled sweet yellow house. The smaller size feels perfect, as we have been minimizing and simplifying our lives and possessions for the past few years. The dents in the wall and the scratches on the old pine wood floor ooze with character and there is something about this place that feels like a warm hug. I’m energized in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. I don’t spend all my time cleaning or looking at a messy house that I should be cleaning. 

Our life couldn’t be more different now then it was just a couple of months ago. This move for us was all about family, freedom, flexibility and fun. I have no idea what things will look like for us a year from now, but I’m excited to continue documenting this journey for us on this blog and share with others the changes that we make and what we learn along the way.