Settling In

10/13/2009

It really feels like we’re at a point in life where we’re just kind of settling in. Finally buying a house was big step in that general vibe. I was just looking back and since I moved out of my parent’s house (at 18), I’ve never lived at one address for longer than 35 months. That’s kind of crazy, I suppose – in 18 years, I’ve never lived in one place for as long as a three year span. It’s especially odd if you consider the first 18 years of my life where 15 of them (from 3 until I moved out) were spent in the same rural, small town home.

I’ve known my wife for half my life and been married for 13 years (last month) and our lives have been very migratory in many ways – always moving from area to area and always traveling for person reasons within that greater context. It’s just what we’ve done and it’s worked out greatly for us.

But in the past year – all of that seems to have changed. We sort of acknowledged that we’re in a pretty good place and that it looks like we can continue to advance our lives while staying put. We bit the bullet and bought the house last winter and decided to spend our resources not staying mobile, but rather establishing some minor roots. We generally have a 10-year plan at this point. Our youngest (my son) just turned 8, so in ten years we’ll have two adult children and be free to open up all the options again and see where (if anywhere) it takes us.

I’m not sure where I was heading with this. Lately I have a feeling of ‘settling in’ – not really slowing down, but changing focus. I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but it’s different and that’s why I’m noticing it. Seems like a good time in life to get our ducks in a row, lay low and wait for the signal that it’s time to sping forth into whatever it may be that needs sprung into.

It’s the kind of thing that is necessary, but not exciting…and I think my little blog reflects that.

There are 4 comments in this article:

  1. 10/14/2009jeffyjones

    It feels strange to read that, as I’m doing exactly the opposite after living in my house for more than eight years. I’m uprooting and starting over.

  2. 10/14/2009Lord Gonchar

    Well, I’d be lying if I said reading of your current excitement didn’t help inspire these thoughts.

  3. 10/15/2009draegs

    This is somewhat related…

    At the beginning of October I realized I was making was the first mortgage payment of year three. I moved into my house in June of 2007, which means I am approaching two and a half years here.

    Certainly my life is nowhere near the point where yours is, but I had similar thoughts about finally being rooted in one place. I left home in 2000 and have never lived in one place for more than 15 months. I think that’s why it’s taken me so long to feel like this place is actually my home.

    I had a hard time jumping right into home improvement projects like you did. Maybe if I had, I would have come to feel more at home sooner.

  4. 10/15/2009Lord Gonchar

    Well, it’s the home improvement projects that really made it feel like there’s a life change happening. Instead of dropping that cash on a new toy or using it to go ride another coaster, this year we found ourselves using it to improve our surroundings – something we never had to worry about before.

    A ten-year plan would be nice, but if history is any indicator, we probably won’t pull it off. We’ll see.

    Get back to me in a decade. :)

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