Three Months Out - Life Full Circle

Life often comes full circle. Twenty-two years ago, Joel moved back from Japan and attended my college graduation. The very next day, we packed all my worldly possessions into a Penske truck and moved to San Diego together. I remember that time of life had so much excitement and optimism.

Recently, we found ourselves packing up a Penske truck once again—this time driving to Oregon to put a significant portion of our belongings, primarily Joel’s tools and our car, into long-term storage for the coming year. This marks another major milestone in downsizing our footprint and preparing our family for extended travel.

Completing the 3,000-mile road trip from Maryland to Oregon and fitting everything perfectly into the storage unit brought a massive sense of accomplishment. During the trip, we also organized our driver’s licenses and updated our car registrations. You would think we’d be old pros at this by now. This is technically the twelfth move Joel and I have tackled together throughout our time dating and being married, and it is the sixth time I have driven across the country. Yet, even with all these milestones crossed, a surge of excitement comes paired with a wave of anxiety, knowing that in less than three months, we will be fully packed up and living in another country.

Driving across this vast, beautiful country gave me plenty of quiet time to reflect on my past road trips. I have purposely chosen a different route every single time and have been lucky enough to see all 50 states as an adult.

One thing I realized, even in our currently divided political climate, is that most people are genuinely friendly when you take the time to look them in the eye and treat them as individuals. People were eager to ask about our day and hear about our journey. When you look at someone and make them feel truly acknowledged, it is amazing how quickly they open up and show their genuine selves.

I also realized how much geographic location dictates a person's opportunities. As we drove through parts of the Midwest and the mountain states, there would be hundreds of miles where options felt limited, making me realize just how much our surroundings shape our paths. I wondered, where do these people go to school? How do they go see the doctor? Where do they get their groceries?

Unfortunately, we discovered there was a leak in the rim of our trailer tire in the absolute middle of our journey. As we were broken down in South Dakota waiting for the trailer tire to be fixed, we had to sit in a gas station and wait for the Penske mechanic. I noticed several people coming in at the end of their days—a police officer, a bunch of school girls, a little boy with his dad. All of them were picking up food for dinner: some form of fast food or pizza out of a countertop food warmer.

When living in that remote of an area, there’s not a lot of access to fresh food, and it’s not always easy to make sustained, healthy food decisions. When we drove by little homesteads that were cluttered with miscellaneous items, I also realized they might not have a weekly garbage service or a Home Depot to run out to to fix something easily. I guess it shows that there are all ways of living. Every location can have its beauty and every location can have its challenges.

That is the attitude I always tried to have when we moved to another part of the country—sometimes locations I would have never chosen on my own, but our jobs called. I always tried to learn and experience the new location to its fullest. Just because I would not live there by choice didn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy it for the few years we lived there. I would tell the kids, “Remember, this is someone’s home; they love it and are proud of it.” Having a willingness to appreciate it for a phase of life was very freeing. It allowed us to keep positive, try new adventures we never would have if we were not there, and then reaffirm it was a good phase, but time to move on to a place of our choice.

Ultimately, I believe people are people. They want the opportunity to have a home, feel a sense of security, and have a little bit of money to take the family out for a nice dinner. Not one way of living is right or wrong; tolerance for difference goes a long way. Tolerance for difference ultimately allows you to live more empowered over your own life, choices, and attitudes.