Next weekend, we are moving our little family to small apartment in Vancouver, Washington.

That will make a total of seven states, two countries and countless houses or apartments that I’ve lived in.

Tom grew up in the same house that his mom is currently still living in.

And this will be the fourth state that L.J. will have lived in. (If you’re keeping up on the math, he’s three. My god, the guilt!)

A few months ago, L.J. periodically started asking to “go home”. He would generally ask this when we were actually at home so it threw us off a little. And when we would ask him where “home” was, he didn’t really have an answer. He would just shrug his shoulders and whine a little.

Now...let’s put this into perspective and into context: when he usually brought this topic up, he was tired or not getting his way or being disobedient. He knew that it would get a reaction or distract us from the timeout we were about to give him. Toddler’s are smart, cunning little creatures aren’t they?

We’ve made a valiant effort lately to explain to L.J. that whatever house he is living in, it is not his home. His home is where his mom and dad and sister are. We are the people that he can count on and who love him and who will always be there to support and encourage him. We are the constant in his life.

Parenting is hard guys! Always worrying whether or not the decisions you’re making are going to screw your kids up. Because you know it -you just know it- one of these days, you’re really going to F the kid up for good.

Tom and I have every desire to settle down someday -soon- and establish ourselves somewhere long term. We just have no idea where this will be. East coast, west coast, Timbuktu... you’re guess is as good as mine. And even though we each grew up very differently, we both agree that family is the most prominent and cherished memory from both of our childhoods. What I have to keep reminding myself is that this is our story, our adventure and our chance to create a close family dynamic for our children -wherever that maybe.

So that is our focus and our prayer for L.J. and G.G.... that when they look back on their own childhoods, they remember the adventure and experience of it all. That they realize that their parents worked their butts off to give them a loving and safe environment.

To be completely honest, I’m actually excited about this move. It’s not nearly as traumatic as the move we did last year from New York to Portland -we’re only moving about 15 minutes away from where we currently live- plus we’re moving closer to grandparents and cousins. And twelve years of knowing each other, seven years of marriage and two kids in, this is actually the first place that Tom and I have picked out together.

So, next weekend, we’ll be unpacking the few meager belongings that we lugged across the country and moving into a spacious 945 square foot apartment, starting our next chapter as a family!

*The print at the top of this post is by Tad Carpenter. Very talented. His Pantone Color Puzzles are on my Christmas list for G.G. this year. Visit his site here.

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