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A hundred miles, a hundred miles... two thousand miles
Well, I just came in from my back yard. Out in the garden, I ate some strawberries, peas, and raspberries (all delicious). I gave a carrot to the horse that lives on the other side of the fence, and petted his nose while he tried to eat my seersucker jammies. I got some mosquito bites. I pulled some weeds. I enjoyed the sunset.
Inside, the house is arranged perfectly. The walls are a pale fern green that bounces the sunlight. Some walls are a rich, earthy brown. The picture window lets in maximum light. It's like being outdoors, indoors. It's the perfect place to sip coffee and read a good book.
Naturally, we have decided to sell it all and move to Iowa.
Matt has enrolled in Wartburg Lutheran Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He's been working on his MDiv for the past year at Seattle University, but between a wretched job, a long commute to school, and the exhaustion of working full-time and attending grad school full-time, he was miserable. But we couldn't maintain the mortgage and tuition unless he continued to work. Not in Seattle, anyway. In Iowa, one income should be enough.
Two thousand miles is a long way from friends and family, not to mention our beloved home, and weather we're used to. But the idea of Iowa has come up repeatedly over the past year, and every time we beat it back, like a Whack-A-Mole, it just keeps popping up. We finally gave up and visited last month. I have to admit, it's a beautiful place. The humidity was intense, but it was strangely enjoyable to be too warm in summertime--something we haven't experienced in Seattle frequently. And the thunderstorms! I loved the smooth grassy hills and spreading oak trees, and the sandstone cliffs that look so deliberate, as if they were all built by an inexhaustible mason, and decorated by an equally indefatigable gardener. I also enjoyed the small towns we visited, the farmer's market, the coffee shops. It's actually a great place in a lot of ways. And since it's just three hours from Chicago, we can get our big-city fix whenever we need one.
We're going to be living in student housing, but it's for grown-ups, so our apartment has three bedrooms, storage, a laundry room, 1.5 baths, and yes, central air conditioning. And the cost is ridiculously low.
I'm excited to live in a small community of close-knit students, all brought together to serve something larger than themselves. I'm excited to live in a farming community that proudly emphasizes values like eating locally and growing food in a sustainable way (I have been reading Pollan and Kingsolver a lot lately). I'm excited to go to Madison, Wisconsin, to buy cheese and visit the nearest Trader Joe's.
I wasn't excited at first, and in fact, I'm still mourning a lot of things, especially the aforementioned friends and family. But we'll be back to visit often, I think, and four years really isn't such a long time (I keep telling myself).
Last weekend was our big garage sale. We're tidying up the yard and getting ready to list the house. I'm talking to my company about working remotely. Matt leaves soon to take ancient Greek in advance of fall classes (been there, done that). I'm going to stick around for at least a while, until someone buys the house, anyway.
I guess you can tell, I'm pretty torn between sadness at leaving and excitement at starting a new chapter. It looks like excitement (Iowa??) is going to win.
Inside, the house is arranged perfectly. The walls are a pale fern green that bounces the sunlight. Some walls are a rich, earthy brown. The picture window lets in maximum light. It's like being outdoors, indoors. It's the perfect place to sip coffee and read a good book.
Naturally, we have decided to sell it all and move to Iowa.
Matt has enrolled in Wartburg Lutheran Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. He's been working on his MDiv for the past year at Seattle University, but between a wretched job, a long commute to school, and the exhaustion of working full-time and attending grad school full-time, he was miserable. But we couldn't maintain the mortgage and tuition unless he continued to work. Not in Seattle, anyway. In Iowa, one income should be enough.
Two thousand miles is a long way from friends and family, not to mention our beloved home, and weather we're used to. But the idea of Iowa has come up repeatedly over the past year, and every time we beat it back, like a Whack-A-Mole, it just keeps popping up. We finally gave up and visited last month. I have to admit, it's a beautiful place. The humidity was intense, but it was strangely enjoyable to be too warm in summertime--something we haven't experienced in Seattle frequently. And the thunderstorms! I loved the smooth grassy hills and spreading oak trees, and the sandstone cliffs that look so deliberate, as if they were all built by an inexhaustible mason, and decorated by an equally indefatigable gardener. I also enjoyed the small towns we visited, the farmer's market, the coffee shops. It's actually a great place in a lot of ways. And since it's just three hours from Chicago, we can get our big-city fix whenever we need one.
We're going to be living in student housing, but it's for grown-ups, so our apartment has three bedrooms, storage, a laundry room, 1.5 baths, and yes, central air conditioning. And the cost is ridiculously low.
I'm excited to live in a small community of close-knit students, all brought together to serve something larger than themselves. I'm excited to live in a farming community that proudly emphasizes values like eating locally and growing food in a sustainable way (I have been reading Pollan and Kingsolver a lot lately). I'm excited to go to Madison, Wisconsin, to buy cheese and visit the nearest Trader Joe's.
I wasn't excited at first, and in fact, I'm still mourning a lot of things, especially the aforementioned friends and family. But we'll be back to visit often, I think, and four years really isn't such a long time (I keep telling myself).
Last weekend was our big garage sale. We're tidying up the yard and getting ready to list the house. I'm talking to my company about working remotely. Matt leaves soon to take ancient Greek in advance of fall classes (been there, done that). I'm going to stick around for at least a while, until someone buys the house, anyway.
I guess you can tell, I'm pretty torn between sadness at leaving and excitement at starting a new chapter. It looks like excitement (Iowa??) is going to win.
