Hearing about the drama of a sheriff knocking on the door and telling you that you have to leave is quite something, but it seems like none of what is to come will mean anything without understanding the past eight years and the choices that we have made to form a life and lifestyle.
When I moved my job to where we have been for the past 7 years, we found this little place to rent. It wasn't much to look at from the outside, but it was solid, had enough space for us, and was very rurally located. We wanted a simple lifestyle with no intrusions. We have lived without internet or television for most of that time. It has only been in the past year or so that we have had internet, what a luxury. We have enjoyed stunning mountain views from the front yard, access to hiking trails immediately around us that most people drive hours to access, for me the opportunity to garden and bring in the birds and butterflies I enjoy most by cultivating the plants they prefer, and constant access to wildlife. Only this past winter a bobcat walked though our vegetable garden as a wet snow was falling. I would have gotten out my camera to take a picture, but I just couldn't bring myself to move or look away for fear of missing it. We have had so many interactions with bear, some amazing and inspiring, others frightening, and even seen a mountain lion on one of our hikes. Also, our neighbors have been wonderful friends.
Giving this up to live in a town where there is traffic, neighbors immediately around us instead of the closest one being 1/4 of a mile away will be an enormous change. On one hand it is really exciting, on the other it is heart breaking. How will we exercise the dogs? They are used to being able to hike in the mountains for several miles, off lead, without fear of being hit. We are used to a busy day on the road having 4 cars drive by and several groups of people riding by on horseback. That is not what we are heading into. It really took quite a bit of my husband and I sitting down and talking about what we value most and what cost we are willing to pay to have it. That is what we all have to decide, its just that most people don't actively reflect on it or discuss it. I wonder how many people there are out there who don't even know what their spouse's values really are, they might just be assuming. Especially after some years have past. It somehow surprises us that the man or woman we met in college may have changed over the past 15 years and may not want the same things anymore. And what do you do when you have achieved those things you yearned for when you were young?
We have had the chance to live the way many would envy, and have done it at a minimal cost, but the question is what do we want now, and is this life getting it for us? Believe it or not there are some pretty big financial costs that come in when trying to live simply. Usually it means spending quite a bit more on gas money to get somewhere, and putting more miles on the car causing more where and tear and more money spent in more frequent repairs. In addition to the dirt, dust, and bumpiness of living on a gravel and dirt road. So, there have been some downfalls to this life. "Running out" for a quart of milk forgotten from the grocery store would mean a minimum of 40 minutes round trip. But imagine being able to sit out at a campfire in the hammock every night staring at the mountains. Something people pay so much money to do and we have gotten to do it anytime we wanted for the past seven years. We have been very lucky.
So now that I am seeing the house we are moving from being packed, the furniture is leaving, and the final items are being packed away, it is finally getting real. Something we have said so many times along the way: "It just got real". I don't feel tons of excitement at the thought that we just bought our first house. I feel hopeful that we can do this well, as well as fearful that I'll screw it up, and terribly sad that we are leaving this home that we have loved for so long, so the point I have had to stop typing as I am writing this to cry along the way. I feel I have left something of myself in every place I have lived, whether it is a tree or a bush, or a beloved pet's remains that has been buried in the yard. And each place has left its imprint on me. I think this house we are leaving has left more impression than any place since moving out of my parent's house, someplace I still return to to recharge myself. A place that will always be home to me. We begin this adventure with heavy hearts, wishing for it to lead us to good things, and grateful to be together. Something all "flippers" should keep in mind. If they are trying to sell a house to a family or couple, they are coming in with some baggage, and need to find a place for all of their memories and emotions. Make sure there is plenty of storage for the essentials that need to be kept.
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