We were moving to Idaho, then we weren’t, and then we got here.
The website glowing in my face is asking me to confirm the kid’s scholarship to their private school. I just need to click a button for the state to send more than $16,000 towards their tuition for next year. I breathe in sharply and I click “Decline”.
Today is the day we burn the ships.
When I packed our bags for this summer vacation, it was precisely that: a trip.
It’s hard to put into words what happened next, but I know it started on the very first day we arrived in Idaho when the first thing I said to Matthew was “Welcome Home” as he pulled into the driveway. Within 24 hours, even our daughter was making jokes about not wanting to get on an airplane back to Florida. And within a day or two more, they were no longer jokes, but discussions about logistics and how to make this family-wide dream become our family’s reality.
The recipe is something along the lines of crisp air, forest paths, and mountain views that create an unshakable beauty to the place. But, that’s just the backdrop. My husband and kids are just so undeniably alive here. Their blood seems to run different, their eyes are brighter. There’s simply something about this town that just feels like it’s where we’re supposed to be. But, it’s the doors that continue to just open for us here that have sealed the deal.
The kids’s new school is everything I could want for their education & our rental house shouldn't still be available, but it is. The owner held it for us because she "just knew" we wouldn't want to leave. It just feels like it was meant to be all along. When I mention some of our family's trepidation, my husband replies "It simply can’t be argued that this is a better place for us to raise our kids right now." And he's right. So we sit down and vote. The decision is unanimous. Welcome Idahome, family.
People start over from scratch all the time, I tell myself. There’s nothing too wild about it, right? But, we’re not running from anything. We don’t have to start over. On the contrary, we’ve built so much in the Florida sun. Plus, I’m 10 mins from the school and only 5 minutes from Detwiler’s and Fly Dance Fitness! And my avocado tree is finally heavy with fruit!
It would be so easy to just get back on the plane as we planned in August. For Matthew to return to a job he loves, to be around the corner from the grandparents, and in a beautiful home we’ve just now (after 6 years of blood, sweat, tears, and all our extra cash) finally finished remodeling. The kids have friends with terrific character and warm relationships with their neighbors.
But life shouldn’t be about seeking what’s easiest.
So, instead, our trip to FL in August will be the vacation. We will visit to gather our things and turn over our house. We will hug our friends tightly and beg them to come visit us in the treasure chest of a town we’ve discovered out West. Then, we will link arms and head back to the unknown to write a new chapter for ourselves. The one where the kids learn to ski, Matthew redefines his career, and mama learns to garden in a new zone.
So, it’s officially official. We moved to Idaho.
