Where we're supposed to be

We moved back to Minnesota in November 2021 and I was very conflicted at the time (see: Leaving home, Leaving home part II, and The best decision we ever made). We'd lived in Maryland for going on eight years and had, finally, settled in. We were comfortable. We loved Frederick and our neighborhood and more. But we did have two young kids and a pretty limited support network. Our best, most trusted friends out there were all about an hour away. And then there were some family health concerns that made us want to be in Minnesota. When the opportunity to transfer and get moved here arose and my wife wanted to go for it, that was that. We were coming back.

It's wasn't an especially hard choice, we know Minnesota, have family (though my parents at the time were on their way out) and our longest-term friends here. It wasn't like the first move away from Minnesota, where I was leaving a job and overall some variation of terrified of the unknown (this was long before I started writing, I was shell-shocked). Still, it made me sad. I really didn't want to leave. I probably drank a little too much, alone in the basement at night when my wife was already in bed. At least we had the ~six months to say goodbye and do our favorite activities one last time.

Approaching four years later it's more and more become obvious it was the right call. Life can be funny like that. Or perhaps there's some higher power guiding our paths, if we're open to listening and obeying.

For one thing we do love our son's private Christian school. The education is exemplary, he's learning faster than I can keep up with at times (see: Rapidly reading), and it's a good group of people that we've largely been forced to get to know. I play basketball with a couple guys on the school's board. My wife plays volleyball with a few of the teachers. This is what happens when it's so small and you get involved in literally anything. We do wonder what'll happen if we ever don't make as much money as we do now, but that's discussion for another day.

For another we're getting more and more connected to our church. The very first time we attended was the trial sermon for a new, young (er than us) senior pastor and it's been incredible to see the growth and changes ever since. Services are much more full. The number of young families and children in the kid's wing have skyrocketed. My wife has served fairly regularly for a couple of years now (I think) in the nursery and preschool class and I've started pitching in more recently as well with the elementary aged kids. Then we've formed a small group of other families, five in total, all with young kids, that's been meeting for about a year. These are increasingly good friends. They're people we can speak openly to about the array of life's challenges. People we can build up, mutually support and together help the greater church at large. Or we can simply enjoy each others company.

In addition to growing old relationships, getting connected to these new groups of people and everything else we get more plugged into here in Minnesota, like, for example, youth baseball where I'm coaching for a third straight year, has us feeling more 'at home' than any other time or anywhere in the breadth of our marriage. I didn't expect, or perhaps even want, that to happen. Yet it's hard to shake that this is exactly where we're supposed to be.

I'm not trying to link this to death but hopefully you still understand my meaning here

Of course now that this is the sentiment, will our life dramatically shift again? It's possible and has happened before. For now, however, we'll enjoy this moment.

(If you can believe it this is post # 400.) Until next time.