Moving Across the Country: It Ain’t For Weenies
On Monday morning Chris and I packed the last of our things into our cars, strapped Bean into his car seat, sedated Big Molly so she didn’t get car sick, signed our closing papers on our house, and we headed out of Connecticut. Chris drove his car alone and I drove my car with Bean and Big Molly. My mom rode with me, too, so that she could take care of Bean while I was driving. That turned out to be the best move ever because, even though Little Dude was a really great co-pilot, he needed a little extra attention. I think my Mom fed him an entire box of Vanilla Wafers. But I don’t hold that against her. Riding in a car for 22 hours with a baby is like going to war. You do what you have to do to survive.
We made it to my sister’s house in Virginia Monday night around midnight, we grabbed a little sleep, and at 6:00 AM, we were ready to get back on the road again. We met up here with our two moving trucks.
That’s right. Two moving trucks.
We had one 27 ft. truck rented and on Sunday afternoon as Chris was packing up the truck, he realized it wasn’t all going to fit and so we had to go back and get a SECOND truck. How did we accumulate this much stuff????? It didn’t seem like this much when we lived in the house! Where did it all come from?!?!? So, we filled that second truck, too, and roped in a very, very good friend, David, to drive that truck for us to Florida and then we bought him a plane ticket back to New York on Tuesday.
On Tuesday though, we all drove another 12 hours and finally arrived at my parent’s house right outside of Orlando around 8:00 PM, where my Grandma had a big spaghetti dinner waiting for us. We took showers and ate and rested up for the next day when we would actually move into our rental house. Wednesday morning, we were up again at the crack of dawn and we drove the last 45 minutes into Orlando and to our rental house.
The house itself is really cute. Its a 2 bedroom, 1 bath little house. Which basically means that half of our stuff doesn’t fit in this tiny little rental home. We have been spending the last two days trying to unpack boxes and take out just what we need and then pack everything we don’t need up again so we can store it in closets in our house. Its been hard work and long days, but we are finally seeing things come together and take shape and that has given both Chris and I a surge of energy to just get this done.
I thought long and hard about what to share with you all about our move. I wanted so badly to report to you how wonderful it is to be back in Florida. And it really is wonderful. But I would be lying if I said that it has been an easy transition to make. So far, it has been emotionally difficult on Chris and me. At one point during the unpacking on Tuesday, I had to step outside for a minute because suddenly, right in the middle of unpacking cups and plates in the kitchen, I started crying. Chris and I both walk around going through the motions of moving in, but each knowing that we’re carrying a very heavy weight at the same time. We know this move was the right one for our family. We know that we both wanted to be closer to our families and to raise Bean in an environment where Sunday dinners and family gatherings are a part of his life. But before we can be truly excited and happy about that next phase in our lives, we have to close the last phase and that is the part we are struggling with right now.
At the heart of it, I am really homesick for Connecticut. Which is so funny because all along I thought I was going home to Florida. But, we lived in Connecticut for five years. We stared our marriage and our family there. We have wonderful friends who we miss already and good jobs that will be hard to replace. And while I know that eventually we will have those same things here in Florida, right now the letting go of all of those securities in my life is really hard on me.
I felt better today as we unpacked box after box and I started to recognize my home inside all these boxes and piles. And we got out today and drove around the area of town where we are renting and that was nice to get a better lay of the land. I know this homesickness isn’t going to last long. I know that Chris, Bean, and I will learn to love our life here and over time will, hopefully, love it just as much as we loved our life in Connecticut. But that will take some time and that transition will be hard for all of us.
For now, what I can say with 100% certainty is that whenever I start to feel overwhelmed, I just have to snuggle with Bean or look at Chris and I am reminded that my home is not a house or a city or a state. My home is wherever those two boys go. So, if I need a little time to adjust, that’s okay. And if I need a little time to cry and miss my friends in Connecticut, that’s okay, too. I think that’s even normal. I know that I’m home when I look at my family and that makes this whole move feel like the right thing.
48 Comments
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
Thinking of you, girl. I can’t imagine the emotions you’d feel and how challenging moving with a baby is! Someday when I do something like this I am going to need to re-read your posts to keep my sanity.
Ashley
So glad you all made it safely! I will be praying for you!!
Julie
Glad you had a safe trip. You’ll do great! Julie
maureen
We went through a move recently (across town, not across country!! I don’t know how you two are managing!) But my wise aunt told me that she read (somewhere) that moving house is as big a life event as losing a job or the death of a family member.
This is a BIG transition. Give yourself time. It’s okay to grieve the end of something, even while you’re excited about the start of something else.
Nate's Mom
Moving is one of the most traumatic experiences in anyone’s life, and you’re doing with a job change (also traumatic) and by driving all your stuff across the country (super traumatic). You guys are rock stars and your new home will be found soon.
Nate wants to hear more about these vanilla wafer things. He thinks he’ll add them to the grocery list, thank you very much….
Megan
So glad you made it through the physical move – and I’m sure you’ll start feeling at home again in no time. I mean, family Sunday dinners? How 50s sitcom awesomeness! Bean will definitely be grateful you were willing to sacrifice this short time of unhappiness for the better life down south.
Cindy
So glad that you made it safely to Orlando! I can really feel for you. I have been living in Kentucky for the past 17 years and am looking at moving for my husband’s job soon and it makes me very scared!
Laura
It is good to hear you made it! I know just moving in to a new house takes some adjusting, let alone hours away. Hang in there!
Amy
Hang in there, Katie. Closing such a special chapter of your life has got to be difficult, and I’m praying it happens as quickly as possible. AND I hope you get to have dinner with your family this Sunday and start reaping the benefits of nearby babysitters! 🙂
http://threepeasinakitchen.blogspot.com
Ashley
You have a fan here in Orlando (more than one I am sure, but I can only speak for me)! I so admire what you and Chris have done and what you sacrificed for Bean. One day he will read all of this and be so grateful that you did this all for him. I hope you both feel better about your move soon. (Hint: Try going to the Winter Park farmer’s market on Saturday morning if you haven’t done that before! It’s so much fun and makes you feel right at home around here). Thanks for sharing your struggles and triumphs with us.
Mel
I have tears in my eyes remembering how bittersweet it was to move across the country. I moved from Pennsylvania to Florida a little over a year ago. I got married to the most wonderful husband ever and was excited to move here to be with him but at the same time it was hard to leave behind my home and my friends. It does take time and don’t rush yourself into feeling like you should love it. You will learn to love it I’m sure. I can safely say this having gone through it slowly. But I understand how tough it is. I’ll pray for you and your family as you go through all of these transitions. Also, just remember that it’s Girl Scout Cookie season and those can cover over a multitude of emotions!
EmilyC
You’re going to make me cry! I’m so sorry that you’re feeling sad. I hope you and Chris will adjust to your new life soon and if you need some new friends…you know, someone to invite for those Sunday dinners…I’m just two hours away and the drive would be nothing for me! 🙂
Emily
Take solance in you are doing what is right for you and you family, doing what is right is never easy. Moving is always so hard, my thoughs and prayers are with you. Keep up the good spirits and focus on the positive!
Heather in ND
Good luck making it through this transition and new step in your life, Katie!! I can’t even imagine taking this big step! Way to keep prospective, though. Keep your head up!
Abby @ They Lend Me Their Hearts
I can imagine how hard it is to leave friends behind, and how this new place just doesn’t feel like a home. You know it’s a rental house and only a temporary living situation, which is probably a huge reason it doesn’t feel like home… you haven’t let it feel like home (not that you’ve had time I know, you just moved in aœ )
I gotta say I’m impressed that you moved everything in such a short amount of time! I didn’t realize it was Possible to drive that far in just 12 hours! Way to go!
Lori @I Can Grow people
Dude, moving is hard. Whether it is across town or across the country, it is stressful. Right up there with death and divorce–that kind of stressful. You’ll get through it. But damn, transitions are hard.
After almost four years here in Florida, I am still homesick for Connecticut. My job at Yale changed my life. I fell in love there. I refined my craft there. I got harassed by the homeless there–all important stuff!
And I know that even though I am not so crazy about Tallahassee, I will be sad to leave it. It is the first place we lived as man and wife. We bought our first house here. We built a family here. When the time comes, it’ll be hard to go.
Hugs to you guys!
Marla
I totally understand this post. Moving is such a big transition, even if it’s for good. I’m confident that you will look back at all this stress and laugh in a couple of months.
We are all praying for you guys!
Marla @ http://www.asthefarmturns.wordpress.com
Breann
I have been anxiously awaiting your post about the move! I am glad everyone is safe and getting settled. You hit the nail on the head about your home being where your family is. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. And you moved just in time for beach season!
Tracey Ann
I remember the sinking feeling very well when we finally got to seattle and took look around, I had to arrange our dinnerware (right then and right there mind you mins to midnight!) just to feel alright.. I’m a weirdo but it worked!
Stephanie
I know I don’t know you, but I have missed you, I know what you are sayin & I love ya! Hang in there.
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
I’m glad y’all made it in one piece. Change – even good change – is hard. You’ll make it.
But I have to ask:
Does the thought of moving it all again in a few months when you get your “real” house make you want to die just a little bit? 😉
Gale
I remember being sad when we sold the house where we brought all 3 of our babies home from the hospital, and then moving twice more with all of the kids in tow. Two and a half years ago the kids were grown and done with or in college, and it was just hubby and me moving from Seattle, WA to the San Francisco area. Our kids have grown tremendously by being on their own (and it helps their mom to know they have each other) but there are still days when it is hard and the only thing that helps is to face the feelings head on and accept that they are part of life and loving!
Kathleen
Hi hi hi!! Congrats on the move! That’s HUGE! I love reading everything on the website Katie, you are a great and funny writer (plus I’m freakin baby crazy right now so your blogs on the bean are my baby fix). And you know what’s funny? I got a phone call from mom today and she hasn’t heard from David in a few days, he’s not answering his phone, she wants to know how he is. Now I can tell her!! He’s fine! He was just in Florida! I didn’t know he was helping you guys out, guess he didn’t either til pretty last minute. Much love to you both!
Katy
Thinking of you! I have to make a move AWAY from home and family in 6 weeks, and am going through some of the same emotions! Can’t imagine it with a dog and a baby! Hope your reunion with Lucy was amazing!!
Ella
Im so glad you all made it safely to your new home. Im sorry you are feeling sad. I packed up my life and moved about 5 years ago to where i am now and although it takes awhile to adjust to a new city, house and everything that goes with it im really glad i made that move and im sure you will feel like that too. You just have to get through this bit and things will get better.Thinking of you all xxx
Sarah
I miss you, too.
Kelly @ The Startup Wife
It’s hard. It’s really hard. Not much to say other than that. Hope you get to do something really awesome this weekend in your new home that you couldn’t have done in CT.
Kristin
DISNEYWORLD!!!
Caitlin@ Simple Girl Confessions
Aw, Katie. My family did the same thing about a year ago. We were originally from Texas and relocated to Baltimore for almost 10 years. We finally decided to move back to Texas to be closer to our family again and it was a tough adjustment at first, but the moments you spend with your family and the bean will sink in and make it all worthwhile. Hang in there, and allow yourself to miss CT for as long as you need 🙂
http://www.simplegirlconfessions.blogspot.com
Christina
Oh, it is sooo hard to move. You know, we have moved many times in the last 13 years and each time it stinks. I always miss where we just were (even though I am the kind of person who hates where I am at the time…I have those rose-colored glasses on when I look back – ha!). Our last move was around the corner (literally, the opposite block from where we lived before) and even that was hard. I’m glad you are able to know that you will see the light at the end of the tunnel (and maybe getting some glimpses of it already?) and I am also glad that you are letting yourself be sad. Life is full of good times and really sad ones too. We would be foolish to pretend that we’re not hurting at times. Remember in Benjamin Button when Mrs. Maple (he thinks that was what her name was) says,”Benjamin, we’re meant to lose the people we love. How else would we know how important they are to us?” I thought that was interesting. It’s kind of like sin and grace. We have to know how much we need grace in order to really appreciate it. I’m not sure how I managed to work the gospel in there, but…anyway. You’ll have a great reunion one day! And I’m jealous of your family dinners. 🙂 Our families are all very far away. Keep looking at your boys. And above, too.
Heather M
In the last year I have made an international move. From the UK to Oregon. It has been painful leaving my life in the UK. The hardest part was leaving my family but there were so many other moments of loss during that process. Leaving a job I really loved, deciding what things from our home we could afford to take and the realization that this meant – not much!
Life in Oregon is very different but I am learning every day to enjoy it and find new experiences to love here. I’m creating a new sense of home. But the one constant, the main constant is my incredibly supportive and loving husband. We create our life and moments together and I wouldn’t change that.
RACHEL
AWWW thinking of you, hope u feel happier soon x
Shannon
I’m glad you all made it safely and had such a GREAT friend to drive the 2nd truck!
I hope the homesickness goes away soon for you both. Just remember, home is where the heart is and where your family is waiting for you. Corny, but true.
Mrs. Jen B
I can totally relate. We moved a month ago from our apartment to my father-in-law’s house in order to care for him. First, seriously…stuff. Where did we keep it all? It was amazing the amount of boxes! Second, I found myself bursting into tears at the most random and inopportune times. Granted our moves were for different reasons and I was crying for reasons other than homesickness and exhaustion, though they were part of it. Moving is such an emotional time, especially when you’re leaving the place where you began a life with someone. Hang in there!
Rachel
Ugh…moving is so hard isn’t it.
I’m glad you made it safely there and I hope things come together without too much stress.
http://www.dreamingofthecountry.wordpress.com
Katy
Best wishes on settling in! You have 2 great boys for support.
courtney
Moving is always hard. Change is hard for that matter – even when it’s a change you really want and didn’t think you could wait for. There is just something about the security and safety of the familiar. Not to worry though, before you know it your lives in Floriday will be what is comfortable and familiar to you. Have fun unpacking.
Liz, JM, Leo and Rosie
Hi Katie, Chris, and Bean,
Welcome to your new home! So glad you all made it in one piece – moving, ugh! We’re so with you on missing CT.
1. Thin crust pizza – that is reason alone to settle down in New Haven for life.
2. Blue skies on a crisp Fall day full of color.
3. NYC a train ride away
4. New England accents 🙂
5. Friends – Chris, Tara, Vinny – need we say more?
6. Real Snow Blizzards
7. Ashley’s Ice Cream
We could go on… but shouldn’t! We feel for you! Praying you settle in well there – enjoy your family so close by ;).
Love you guys!
Life of a Doctor's Wife
It really does sneak up on you, falling in love with a place… and with the memories you form there. I remember moving from our last apartment/city – which I never really liked, let alone loved – and crying my eyes out over having to move somewhere new. We’d gotten engaged there. I’d planned my wedding there. It’s where we transitioned from boyfriend/girlfriend to married couple. Somehow, without my knowing it, it turned into my home.
I think transition is one of the hardest places to be in. But it will get better. You will create new memories and feel like your new place is home.
Glad you all made it safely.
Stephanie Hannum
Welcome to Florida! If you ever need to get out of Orlando, we are only 1 hour, 45 minutes €” I’d love to meet you and the Bean 🙂
Corinn
I am glad you all made it their safely, and that you updated! Change is hard & wonderful all at the same time… and if anyone can handle it, you all can!
kay
could part of the problem be… that there are bars on your neighbors house and it kinda makes home, sweet home not as homey? good luck!
Corinn
There* NOT their… ugh.
Tressa
Happy to hear you made it safely to your new home.
Keep your chin up Katie!!
Thinking of all of you.
Have a great weekend!!!
Megan
Praise be! I’m glad to hear that y’all are there safe and sound but I’m REALLY glad to hear that I’m not the only one that struggles with moving. And OH the struggles I have had with moving. But, at least you are moving to familiarity and not a brand new place. However, moving is moving…and it’s HARD!
Hugs coming your way…I’ve cried those same tears…many times.
Ta Ta,
Megan
http://reddirtandcrazy.blogspot.com/
Jessica
is that a Coors original I see on that first picture? if you have to move, might as well have fun at the same time!
Catherine
You are sorely missed in CT!!! Good luck with the transition. I’m sure being around family and old friends will soon make it much much easier to adjust. Once you’re more settled and unpacked (which by the way, you’ve done remarkably fast!) it will start to feel more like home. xoxo
Jaclyn
I hope everyone is settling in ok! You should go to Disney World when you’re done unpacking! It always cheers me up anyway 🙂
http://jaclynclaire.wordpress.com