Oregon Anniversary

Its been 4 years since I arrived here in Salem
June 25, 2006.
It was one very long, hot, drive from Kearney, NE.

We left from Kearney June 23, 2006 after a teary good bye.
2 adults, 4 kids, a bird, a dog and a fish along with luggage and a box full of liquor... all packed into 2 vehicles.
Evidently you can't put liquor on a moving truck and despite our best efforts to properly dispose of and consume all the liquor prior to the move, we still had a box full that needed to make the journey.

I had put Caroline on an early morning flight out of Omaha 10 days prior to our leaving by car. Doing this meant Jeff wouldn't have to be alone on Father's day. Putting her on a plane in and of itself was scary. At 13 years of age, Caroline had never flown and I was very nervous knowing she would have to change planes in Denver. But my sister was there to greet her with a big hug.

The morning we left Fr Jose' came by to send us off with a blessing.

I knew we would need all the prayers and blessings possible in the days ahead and it meant a lot that he took time to be there with is. I am thankful for his friendship and his thinking to take one last picture of us all on the front porch.

The weeks and months leading up to our move were filled with activities and events surrounding family, work, sacraments, preparing the house, and packing.

There were a lot of 1st and lasts between April and June.

Laura had her 1st communion, and Lindsey graduated just weeks apart that gave Jeff opportunities to come back to Kearney and say a few more good byes. And the kids spent time with old friends.

The road trip was filled with a mix of tension and boredom. 1,526 miles is a long way to travel with the menagerie we were transporting.
On our first night's stop somewhere in Wyoming we had to figure out how to accommodate all of us in just 2 hotel rooms.
It wasn't easy and not too many of us got much sleep, except for maybe the fish.

After our second long day of traveling and sight seeing I knew 3 rooms were necessary if we were to get our much needed rest and a break from one another. The extra room, along with taking time to lighten our load (the liquor we were hauling) helped my mood tremendously.

If it were not for my dear friend Matt, I don't know that I would have arrived with any sanity left.
Until you have experienced the months of preparation, planning, sorting, cleaning, and packing it might be difficult to understand the mix of emotions one can go through.

It is such an odd mix of feelings watching a large truck drive away with all your possessions stored inside and not knowing if and when you will see them again. A part of you has to just let go and trust.

For me, making a new place a home is a process.
The process takes time and goes through many stages of letting go, trusting, accepting, and reconnecting.

Today on the 4th anniversary of our move to Salem I am glad to say this feels like home.

I am glad I have reached this point.
I imagine my loved ones are glad too.
It is good timing as I prepare to take the 3 youngest girls back across the country to visit family and friends we left behind 4 years ago.

My hope is to show them all the places we have lived.
The places they have lived and called home.
The places their parents have called home,
and their grandparents have called home.
They are old enough now to be curious,
and old enough to remember.

We have already started a journal and will chronicle our trip with stories, reflection, and of course pictures.
Maybe even a video or two.

And when it is all said and done we will be very anxious to arrive back home, in Salem, safe and sound.
Home is where the heart is.