Living the High Life in Texas

Hey! We're in Texas!

Life just continues to get weirder and weirder. First there was the weird virus that took over the planet. Then there was the absence of avocation (i.e. layoff/furlough). Then suddenly there was a job opportunity in Texas -- and here we are!

I can't begin to describe how bizarre this entire year has been. Or has become. Everyone knows that, and some are experiencing it in far more measure than we are. I was really hoping that this was going to be one of those "good" years, one of those years where it felt like things were getting better instead of worse. Prior to this year, the worst one was 2009, with 2015 a close second in the "please don't make me live that all over again" category. But those were bad years due to personal reasons, and, for the most part, they were bad only from my own limited perspective.

But this year. Whoa.

It feels like our whole world has fallen apart, not only the little world that we inhabit inside our little house in Grand Rapids; but the entire world that surrounds us, the world in which we thought we were living a life of relative peace and tranquility. Mainly because we are boring people who don't bother anyone. But this year has affected so many people, both in and out of our little circle of acquaintances/friends/relatives, that a day doesn't go by that we aren't experiencing a little (or a lot) of heightened anxiety.

I didn't mind getting laid off. I didn't mind getting unemployment. I've never really worried about things like that because life is an adventure and I have some incredible people surrounding me who give me the confidence to continue getting up every morning no matter what, and facing the future. My parents brought me up with a strong faith; and my lovely life-companion has wisdom and courage and faith that emboldens me; and though sometimes doubts assail me in my innermost thoughts, there has never been a moment when my faith has left me high and dry.

And adventure is always around the corner. And I'm for adventure!

Especially when it involves just me and my lovely wife, heading off into the sunset towards an unknown destination, starting our life together a second time, taking some time to just be with each other again without the encumbrances of house and family, spending some good quality time by ourselves.

Of course, we're also taking the opportunity to spend time with some family we haven't had a chance to see on a regular basis for a long time, and hoping to strengthen the familial bonds.

But the real adventure -- for me -- is to finally have some time to spend with Cheryl in our own little place, even for a little while, not having to worry about the house falling down around our heads, or the children needing this or that.

Going for walks, having quiet dinners together, seeing a new (to us) place and sharing that newness together.

Having a new job that is kind of fun (for a change); living in a new town where nothing is familiar; living in an apartment again (not a house!) where the landlord (hopefully) takes care of all those things that fall apart; going shopping for things to make the place a real home-away-from-home; remembering what it was like so long ago when we were first married; the awkwardness of conversation when you promise yourself you aren't going to talk about the children. What do we talk about these days?

I love the challenge. I love the experience.

Except the traffic. I'm not too keen on the metropolitan traffic. Where do all these cars come from?!?!