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If you had to sell almost everything and start over, what would you keep?
You may be wondering why anyone would want, or need to sell everything they own. They must be crazy.
And that's a little true....
It all started back in 2014 when my husband and I, with a one-year-old, discovered I was expecting another child. I remember feeling completely overwhelmed, not to mention the load of a full time hospital job and college enrollement. This new development was not according to plan! I recall going to my church and expressing how scared I was. How would it be possible to juggle work, school, an 18-month-old, and a baby? A ninety-three-year-old woman named Hope approached me after church and said, "You need to quit your job."
First off, who in the world tells someone something like that?! And second off.... um... how?!!! We depended on my income, and I worked incredibly hard with my college life to progress to where I was at work. Even though I was taken aback by my friend's admonishment, her wisdom rang true. I couldn't forget it. If I could wave a magic wand, I really would love to stay home with my children and go to school for FUN! (Yes, I'm a nerd) From that moment on, staying home with my kids became my unspoken goal.
I continued in school for a year after that moment, through the crazy "roadrunner in my belly" stage, to post partum depression. And even after the clouds cleared a little bit and I got to the finish line, I still worked. My colleagues and boss were incredibly supportive during this stage, as well. I would not have made it without their positivity and example. Finally, I took my coding certification and passed! I remember the day I passed celebrating by taking the rest of the afternoon off of work, leaving the kids at the babysitters, and buying myself a frosty. Celebration, indeed! However, even in my happiest moment, I could never shake the longing desire to stay home with my kids.
Now, to reach my ultimate goal, we had to find a job that could replace my income. Where we originally lived, Utah, this was much harder to accomplish than in other areas. The cost of living was very low at the time, housing was just slugging back after the recession, and the abundance of hard workers willing to work for little wages made my husband's job search daunting. After 1 year of looking, a cousin came in from out of town. He lived in a small town 200 miles away from the nearest Walmart in ALASKA. He inferred that Clint should get a job his small town of Valdez. And we laughed a little. And then we got to thinking...
That idea wasn't half bad! I mean, being the in the middle of nowhere sounds crazy, but who cares if you can have your dreams fulfilled?!! So my spouse applied for a job, spent hours preparing for the interview, invested $500 to fly up for the interview.... and didn't get it. So we waited some more. 9 months later, we wondered if this was all a pipe dream. There was another opening. We waited and prayed. Finally, we got the call. He got the job!!!!!!! We held hands and jumped up and down in the kitchen like 13-year-old girls. (My husband will deny this if you ever ask him!!!) But there was a catch... he had to start his job in three weeks. THREE WEEKS to move to ALASKA.
Here's a fun fact about the American education system and North America: Some people think Alaska is an island... its not. Just because map makers can't fit it in the upper corner doesn't mean that it's an island floating in the pacific ocean. It's connected to Canada. And since we're talking about Canada, most Americans don't realize how BIG Canada really is. To drive through Canada to Alaska costs a small fortune in gas. The best option for most people (and people with crappy stuff) is to sell everything and buy it again in Alaska. Shipping companies charged more to ship our stuff than what the stuff was worth. So, the yard sale began.
With the three weeks we had, I needed to complete my two weeks notice, sell everything we owned, sell our cars, clean our house, sell it, buy plane tickets, buy a new car in Alaska, buy house supplies and new toys for our kids, furniture, and drive 200 miles to the small town in the middle of nowhere. Luckily my husband was a ROCKSTAR and packed almost the whole house while I was at work. Our army of a family was also there to help clean, and even overpaid for the stuff we sold to support our move. We could not have made the move without them.
Finally, I said goodbye to work for the last time. I still think of my colleagues every day. It has almost been five years, and they are still some of the hardest working, intelligent women I have ever met. We said our goodbyes, and had one day to say our goodbyes to family. By the end of the three week whirlwind, we had 9 suitcases on the floor and an empty house. The next day, we made the journey of a lifetime.
Now what were in the nine suitcases, might you ask?! Clothes, special toys, blankets, electronics, important paper work, and my camera. Our whole life sitting there on the floor. It was a strange feeling to get rid of the papers I had saved from first grade to show my future kids- or the projects I was going to finish, but never did. However, the biggest emotion I could think of from all of this whirlwind was freedom; Freedom from the yesterdays of "I should have"; Freedom from the stuff to organize.
And with this new found hope we made our journey to a new life. We rolled into Valdez in a green, used suburban with only $200 to spare in our checking account, but we made it! Our life has been enriched by the dumping of stuff, the slow paced life in the Alaskan mountains by the sea. I personally have grown as an individual by taking the risk of being home. We miss our families dearly, but love the innocence of the new life we have built centered on our marriage and kids.
Ultimately, we discovered that the most important things in our existence weren't in a suitcase at all.
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