Looking in the rear view mirror

I've been thinking a lot lately about our move to Arizona. How FAST it happened, how much we dove into all at once. Looking at it from the outside, I'm sure it seemed even crazier. The kids and I have been talking about the whole thing a lot lately, and what a story it'll make (it already does).

We made the decision to "consider" a move the day after Christmas last year. On January 7, my husband was offered a relocation to Phoenix. On February 13, we picked the kids up from school and drove nonstop from Kansas City to Phoenix (well not NONstop, we stopped, we just didn't sleep!). On Feb. 15, we signed house papers and flew back to KC on the 16th. On the 19th, we departed again, ahead of our moving truck. On the 20th, we got the keys to our new home and walked in.

That's ridiculous. I also had one working arm that whole time.

But what's even crazier is how much we grew as a family during that time. We haven't traveled much as a family because of our son's illness. But in that one week, we drove across the country twice and flew once. During those 60ish hours in the car, we had a lot of fun, talked each other down from emotional ledges and learned what our son talks about in his sleep. We saw how easy going and adaptable our kids are, and how eager and open they are for new adventures.

We learned what can happen when you let go and let God. We listened to a lot of talk radio, wrote a lot of mad libs, and played a lot of I Spy car games. We slept in the car, hotels, the floor of our new home, a friends' guest room and Grandma's house. And we discovered that as long as we're together, it doesn't matter where we are. I saw a new side of my children that amazes me every time I think of it; about a dinner we had at a Denny's at 3am in the middle of nowhere, and how it felt so good to see the mountain outside our front window and know it was ours to see everyday. We learned how much we loved cinnamon rolls at Ikea and what a gift Starbucks wifi is.

I will always look back on this adventure with gratitude and fondness -- for the opportunity, the crazy amount of trust we showed, the gift of our wicked cool kids and the hand holding hours with my husband in the car. It wasn't easy, but nothing in life worthing holding onto forever is.

Making a big life change is scary. But what is even scarier is regret.