We are leaving San Antonio and uprooting to a new city. Today I’m sharing why we’re moving and how I’m dealing with it.
Why Are Moving?
Last Friday was the last day in our house. It was such an emotional day as we prepped our house for sale. For those of you who have been following along, we’ve been dreading this moment for more than a year. We have gone through numerous layoffs and job changes over the last few years. It has been an incredibly stressful three years, with multiple rounds of layoffs.
Last year, when the world locked down, oil tanked on the stock market and so layoffs began again. Even though it eventually rebounded we found ourselves facing a move as our employer was bought out by another. May I be really honest? I didn’t really expect to move. I somehow thought that God would make a way for us to stay. After all, my father is extremely sick and we have been helping care for him.
There is another caveat as well, I’ve spoken about this before, but I have lived with bipolar my whole life. It is extremely hard some days. Some days the depression is disabling. The idea of moving far away from all my friends and family is downright frightening to me. When I am sick, I rely on my family a lot to come to my rescue a lot.
I Struggle to Cope
I have been very spoiled over the last year and a half. In March of 2020, my husband was permitted to work from home. As a stay-at-home mom, this was such a welcomed opportunity. I had spent the better part of five years in our house with our two children. I was so lucky that I had my parents nearby. So many of those lonely days, I’d find myself over at their house for company. So having my loving husband just inches from me in the office brought such a comfort. I felt safe with him in the house.
My bipolar really causes me to struggle with basic changes. It is why I strictly adhere to a routine. Familiarity helps with my bipolar. Uprooting completely takes me out of routine and comfort. I even find myself extremely hesitant to explore. I didn’t use to feel this way. In fact, in my youth, I backpacked all around Europe and lived their for several years. I wasn’t afraid to explore in my twenties, but I feel vulnerable now in my forties. Funny how that happens.
I’m Worried About Homesickness
When I lived in Europe, I really struggled with homesickness. I was there for several years and I lived in Norther England in the moors which was absolutely breathtaking. In fact, I lived in West Yorkshire where Wuthering Heights was written. It was picturesque, but after the novelty wore off, I really missed home.
I desperately missed my family and friends and event though I wanted to live there and I had wonderful friends there, I sank into a deep depression. I haven’t even been here a week and already I am ready to go home. I want to sleep in my own bed, work in my own kitchen, sit on my own porch with tea, write in my own office. I had my favorite places and gosh, I love the area around my home like al the stores and restaurants. I am already missing all of that.
Please keep me in prayer that I learn to love it here and that I adjust quickly. I am so nervous about all of this. I do think that once we are in our new home, and I’m surrounded by familiar furnishings and items that it will feel more like home.
Friends Needed
I also hope I can make friends here. I think getting into a church will help with that. Although the church we are looking at is all the way in Spring, TX. We definitely want to attend a reformed Baptist church. This one, Founders Baptist, came highly recommended and so we are willing to make the trek there every week.
I’m also looking for homeschool groups and mom’s groups. I think once I have some friends, I will also feel more at home. My poor babies need friends as well. This is such a huge adjustment for all of us. I recently logged back onto Facebook for the sole purpose of trying to find groups to join. Wish me luck!
Our Housing Situation
My husband, graciously wanting to slowly transition me into this move, wanted to originally come work over here by himself until our new house is finished. I wasn’t sure what to think about it, but after a few weeks of prayer, I did not feel that was wise. I really considered that for the sake of our marriage and for the sake of our children, I should follow, even if it meant repeated, frequent visits back to my parents house in San Antonio.
We’ve rented a cute little townhouse. It is quaint and is in a quiet, small, gated community filled mostly with retirees. Thankfully, it is only about three miles from my husband’s office as well.
The New Home
Our new home isn’t going quite as planned. We stopped by on our way into to Houston and discovered that they failed to put in our fireplace. It’s fixed now, but on our second visit we discovered additional mistakes – big ones! In case you don’t know, I used to be a property adjuster. I use to help rebuild homes after hurricanes, floods, and fires. So I’m pretty familiar with the construction process. Also this is the second home we’ve built.
They put the gas line for our outdoor kitchen on the wrong brick column. Also, they failed to allow for a window in one of the bedrooms. Having an emergency egress is fire code in Texas. Pretty big mistake! A bedroom without windows! Then they are building our media room like a flex room. So they added windows where there shouldn’t be windows and failed to account for the electrical conduits that need to be installed. We have a meeting scheduled with them to discuss they errors they are making. All these errors mean additional delays. Additional delays mean staying in our rental house longer which of course is coming out of our pocket.
There have also been material delays due to COVID. Please keep us in continued prayer that we don’t have any more delays and the process goes smoothly from here on out. I certainly am anxious to move in. I don’t really feel like I can settled until I am in our new home.
That’s the Latest
Thanks for tagging along with our current adventure. I’ll provide updates again soon. Have you ever uprooted? I’d love to hear what helped you feel settled or helped with homesickness. Drop a comment below.
