America's Heartland

The rumors are true!  Our family is packing up and heading out west - midwest that is, to America's Heartland:  Des Moines, Iowa!  (insert mega shocked face)

The decision has been so quick and everything has been happening so very fast that I can still hardly believe it's real.  A few weeks ago Justin flew out to Des Moines for work (he has to travel there often since the senior leaders in the Wells Fargo Home Mortgage division are located there as are many of the people he manages) and while he was there his boss casually asked him if he was sure we didn't want to move out there.  Justin laughed and told him that we wouldn't have a problem moving and that it was too bad that Wells didn't offer relocation anymore.  His boss suddenly became serious and asked if Justin was serious and that if the relocation was the only thing stopping us than he would see what he could do.  So Justin called me that night (Monday) and totally shocked me by asking if I was sure I would be okay with moving there.  We'd talked about it hypothetically a few months before when he got the promotion, but since we'd never really thought they would relocate us it was really just that - hypothetical.  Faced with the decision, though - I almost immediately said, "Of course!"

Don't get me wrong - we have LOVED it here in North Carolina and have made some of the best friends we'll ever have here.  Our children have all been born here, we bought our first home here. . . Truly, we love this area.  However, we have always known/assumed that our stay here would be temporary as Justin's career advanced.  Over the past few years there have been other opportunities that would have moved us away from Charlotte, but after careful consideration and much prayer we've always felt as though we should remain here.  This time has been different from the beginning.  The moment Justin asked me if I was sure I'd be okay with moving I felt certainty and excitement.  I've never been to Iowa, I honestly couldn't even imagine the shape and exact location of the state in my mind as we spoke, but it just *felt* right.

Over the next few days I was only able to speak with Justin a couple of times and for a grand total of maybe ten minutes, so I wasn't sure if his boss was actually being serious (even though Justin said he was).  But when he returned on Friday he told me his boss had already contacted HR to come up with a relocation package and that he would do everything he could to have it to us before he went out of the office for his vacation.  About a week went by with us receiving little updates from his boss on how things were coming with HR - apparently relocations require a lot of approval these days - and the uncertainty was a true test of my patience.  To not know whether we would be making a life-changing move or whether we would be staying here was agonizing!  What if the offer didn't cover everything we'd need it to in order for us to justify moving?  What was our bottom line?  When would we be out there?  There were just so many questions that remained unanswered throughout this whole week.  So even though Justin was 90% sure we would be moving, there was still that nagging 10% that made me nervous to get my hopes up.

Then on December 19th, the 6 year anniversary of when we closed on this home, our first home, we got a relocation offer that made our "probable" move a definite one.  The package went above and beyond our expectations when it included that the bank would buy our current home (if we can't find buyers on our own within 90 days).  This had been a huge concern for us and while it wasn't a deal breaker, we'd thought we would for sure be looking to rent this home out and were trying to figure out the logistics of managing a rental property from several states away.

So here we are - in the midst of preparing our home for the market (it looks so good!  I wish we would have repainted sooner!) while trying to find a new house via online searches.  We have been so excited to read nothing but wonderful things about Des Moines.  Their public school system is one of the best in the nation, it's continually listed as one of the top places to raise a family, they have wonderful outdoor activities and parks, the commutes are so much shorter and the overall area is more rural - which makes this Montana grown girl happy. :)  For the kids I am thrilled that they will be able to experience four definite seasons.  I guess it's about time they learn what snowsuits and sleds are, right? :)

Life has been even more busy (dare I say chaotic?) as we've started the organizing, decluttering (and I am SO not a pack rat!), and packing process.  Because my mind has been so focused on things like repainting, what to get rid of, what to keep, things I need to get (medical records, immunization records, school records), finding a new OB in Des Moines, etc., I have not really stopped to think about what we are leaving.  I know that moment will come when I allow it, and that I'll probably be doing my ugly cry for a few hours when it does.

Let the adventure begin.