Saying Goodbye to the Big City

Saying goodbye to the big city isn’t something I envisioned doing. My husband and I couldn’t wait to leave the little town we grew up in, and we were ready to see what Denver had to offer! To explore, go out, and do new things!

And we did… kind of. 

I went to Rockies games. I went to dinner with friends. I tried new hiking trails. After we had kids, I took them to explore new places. I found a mom tribe. I got to see a lot of Denver. 

Do you see the theme? I … not, we.

When we got to Denver, my husband started working for a company that consumed a lot of him. The schedule was demanding and not traditional, which left him overtired and catching up on rest on his days off. While he hardly ever complained, it wore him down, little by little. Naturally this took a toll on our girls and I. We missed him and longed for his company as we explored. I could see that the unhappiness caused by his job was changing him. My husband is a good man and a good dad, he made every effort to find the positives in his position, but enough was enough. 

Over time, we made a choice to change our situation. We explored many options and what each one would look like for our family. Eventually we reached a decision: We’re moving back to the small town we grew up in.

These are our top five reasons for saying goodbye to the big city:

1. Time together with our family, Lord willing, will be easier to come by.
2. My husband will be home every night.
3. The ability to go to the secluded mountains, without sitting in traffic (this is huge for my husband).
4. Being able to get around town without feeling like we are in someones way.
5. Having family close by (I’m very excited to see what parenting with grandparents, aka babysitters, around is like).

Almost immediately after making this choice, there was something different about my husband. My dad noticed and mentioned that it’s nice to see him smiling again. 

He’s right, it is nice to see him smiling again.

I find joy, as we are due to celebrate our seventh anniversary, in the fact that I choose him. I choose him over this life in the suburbs, in a pretty house with a red front door. In doing so, I choose our family.

There are a lot of unknowns about our situation and what lies ahead of us. We have made it our goal to focus on where we feel we are being led. This scripture is guiding our days, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Matthew 6:34

Our first step is to sell our home. In an effort to better prepare the girls, I thought I would make a photo album of pictures of our house. My goal is for the pictures to portray how the house is right now, the way we live in it every day. This way, when they are missing our home, we can look at them and share memories. 

Little did I know this exercise ended up being more for me. As I prepared each room and snapped pictures, I let go of our house. With each picture I took, I gave away my attachment to our home. Good thing, because it sold in one day (Denver real estate is nuts). I’m still getting choked up writing this, but I know this is the right step for our family. Having my husband home at night and present is valuable beyond measure. 

This is going to be quite the process for our family. There are a lot of changes in going from a big city to a small town. I’ll post an update once we are settled!