"Part of life is letting things go." ~Phil Dunphy, Modern Family
Ch-ch-changes...have always been extremely difficult for me. I am a true creature of habit-- I want to know what to expect and how to prepare for it. This personality trait has caused me a lot of stress and anxiety in my day. Letting go, moving on is never easy for me. I found myself tearing up tonight as we watched the re-run of Modern Family Season 2, Episode 1 of our DVD set that just arrived. It was about their old station wagon and how they had trouble with letting it go because it had so many memories attached to it that reminded them of the past. Don't we all have an "old station wagon" so to speak? Anyway, in the end, the station wagon rolls off a cliff in a hysterically, dramatic fashion and the Dunphys realize that they needed to let go of the past and look forward to the family memories to come. But, what you also see is that their son, Luke, has salvaged one memory from the car-- a jar of "sunshine" he collected as a small child-- so they had something to remember it by.
So what does this have to do with us and raising Ella? Well, a lot, actually! Moving to Savannah has always been an incredible opportunity for us, a true blessing. But, it didn't mean that it was easy to get here. We had amazing friends/family in Augusta, GA and made a happy life for ourselves there. Then, we up and moved to Dallas, TX. Once again, we found ourselves with amazing friend who became like family and made a happy life for ourselves there too. Plus, we received our greatest blessing to date, Ella, during our time there. Then, we moved on--again. This kind of pattern wears you out in time. Leaving incredible people is never an easy task. Picking up your life is never fun. But, in the words of Phil, Dunphy, "Part of life is letting things go." This is incredibly true. I think that God puts you in a certain place at a certain time for a certain reason. We were meant to meet wonderful people and have wonderful experiences. These relationships will last us a lifetime, I have no doubt. But, we were also meant to move on. Let me clarify--when I say letting things go, I don't mean the people and the memories...I mean the comfort of the life you know. You let that go, so you can experience what God has in store for your next.
I hate change-- moving makes me feel like that awkward middle school girl again-- unsure of myself, will people like me? Maybe you know the feeling. But, I can honestly say that when you open yourself up to change amazing things happen. Since we've been in Savannah, we have grown as a family. We have taken joy in watching Ella become social with other children. She's starting to make friends...Big Ella, Adelaide, Hudson, Emma Jane, Annabelle...to name a few. We've become close friends with people from the past-- Megan and John, Ashley and Ben, Caitlin, Lauren. We've met friends with babies--Jen and Matt, most recently, Emily and Ryan. We've been graciously welcomed by the partners and their families where Brent practices-- Si and Suzanne, Carey and Jeff, Ashley and Bryon, Lisa and Jay. The wives even threw a beautiful luncheon to welcome me to town. They invited other ladies that welcomed me, gave me encouragement, and some names of great restaurants in the area. All of their wives are so incredibly gracious and lovely and I cannot express how touched I was by such a genuine and warm welcome. We've become involved with a lovely church and are getting connected through a welcome class. Exciting things are happening!
So here's the long and short of it-- letting go of the wonderful life we've made in the places we've lived has allowed us to experience so many things. So, sometimes, you have to let go. BUT-- you always hold the past near and dear to your heart-- and never forget. We're starting to feel settled here and that's a great thing. I think Savannah is a wonderful place to raise a family and we are truly blessed to be here. We look forward to all that is to come and know that letting go, feeling out of our element and a bit uncomfortable, led us to where we are now-- we had to let go.
But...to all those that we've left behind in the places we've lived-- we love you dearly and want you to know how close to our hearts you'll always remain!! You are our little jar of sunshine from the past that we keep with us perpetually.
It's so true. You and I have been in very similar shoes -- with husbands in medicine and further training demands -- and you must balance that with what you all want as a family....not to mention what you want as a woman. I will give you credit that you have had to up and move with less time between than we will. Dallas will be at least 4 years here for residency -- and then there's a 2 year fellowship somewhere? Having been an army brat and moved a lot -- my mom and mother in law agree that you actually are JUST NOW (esp you as a mom) starting the years where you will make the best and longest friendships of your life. Hard to believe right? You're at a place where there will not be too much more uprooting. Having both my mom AND mother in law tell me that has given me peace. We are definitely not at the "settle down" stage -- so I know that will come for me -- the Big D is not a guarantee of a final resting place for us with Jake still in training - but take heart in knowing that you are in the downhill slide. You will have incredible memories with other moms and women in the months and years to come!
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