Movin' On Out

      With November and the Georgia Fall in full bloom, we faced another major crossroad in our life, picking up and moving back WEST. On paper it really didn't make sense.  We were leaving a house (we hadn't sold and still haven't), neighborhood, beautiful climate and trees, and most importantly friends that we loved.  Mike would be taking a major pay cut, and leaving a company that begged him to stay, promising a promotion as chief of Radiology at the hospital.  We were moving mid year which was not going to be easy on the kids (especially McKell), and they were leaving the comfort of everything they had known for the last 5 1/2 years.  And did I mention the sheer terror of having to pack up everything you own, down to the tiniest hair ties and pennies that seem to be under every chair or sofa that gets moved.
      Despite all of the good reasons to not move, and there were a lot, one thing kept pulling on us to take a leap of faith and do it.  FAMILY!!  Mike has always wanted to eventually live in the West.  I'm not sure if he thinks he's a cowboy or a character in a Wallace Stegner book, but his "sense of place" is anywhere near what we call the Mormon Corridor--Utah, Idaho, Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado.  I think another major factor is he likes stability, so change is not his friend.  I , on the other hand,  have always liked being independent, feeling like I'm on an adventure by exploring new places, and thrive on change, so for me living away from family has never been a big issue. But recently something really big started to change in me.  It started at my Grandpa Fabrizio's funeral a few years back.  Because of the expense to fly 6 people out to Utah, I was the only one that took the trip.  In some ways that was a blessing because I was able to witness my grandma, mom and her siblings dress my Grandpa's body for burial.  If my kids would have been there I probably wouldn't have gone with my mom.   I listened and watched them laugh together, retell stories about Grandpa and genuinely love each other in a way that was so touching it made the dressing of a dead corpse seem natural and beautiful.  But as the viewing, funeral, and burial in Tabiona marched on, I felt a deep sadness that my own family couldn't experience all that I had. There was deep spiritual bonding, familial love, and testimony that the plan of happiness is a real living thing.  My family missed it and it was because we lived too far away.
       And then this last year my Dad had a huge health scare with his surgeries and infections, and I felt helpless in Georgia not being able to do much of anything but pray and call.  Plus Paige would be moving to Utah in August and we really wanted to be able to see her more often.  Again we felt like it was time for us to move closer, although we knew finding a job would be one of our biggest obstacles. But with faith to move forward,  Mike and I both started looking for jobs and applying to anything in the West.  (I'm his personal assistant as well as his wife).  We only heard back from 2 places in June/July, Vegas and Phoenix.  The same weekend we heard back from Vegas telling Mike he hadn't got the job there, we heard from Phoenix and they said they wanted to interview him.  This was really our last hope, but we weren't expecting much after the devastating news from Vegas.
      After a couple weeks he interviewed, was offered the job, and we were thrown into a whirlwind move in 3 months time.  It's only now that I have had time to take it all in and reflect on the great blessings we have received this past year.  We feel like we are supposed to be here in AZ.  We've spent holidays and game nights with our families, had dinner together pretty much every night due to Mike's new schedule, enjoyed the weekends together, and love 70 degree weather in January.  I am so grateful for all of the experiences we have had in our life, and all of the places we have lived.  It's time for the next chapter to begin!