I loved my home in Atlanta, Georgia.
We had THE BEST backyard. It was full of tall trees with an amazing treehouse my dad built. There was a creek where we would spend hours each day looking for tadpoles or swinging across the water on our tire swing. A neighborhood group of kids played through our elementary school years and started our teen years together. My earliest memories are slip-and-slides on the front lawn, climbing trees, swimming and bike riding until the street lights would come on and remind us it was time to head home. That house witnessed so many of my firsts—my first dog, my first bike, my first kiss.
Brooklawn Road was my home until the day my parents announced we were moving to Boise. Idaho. Wait, do you mean Ohio? Iowa? Nope, Idaho!
I remember my shock and devastation. How could Idaho even compare to everything I knew in Georgia. My mind began drafting an emotional, dramatic story of what was to come, without me actually having any idea of reality. My parents were moving us from the city to the country—shopping malls and hair salons to cowboy boots and rodeos. All anyone could tell me about Idaho was it was known for potatoes.
My parents said it would be an adventure and filled with new opportunities. There would be blue skies and mountains, unlike anything I had ever seen. I could start driving at 14, plus no traffic or long commutes to school. The idea of driving was pretty cool, but it sure seemed like they were stretching to find anything to make this teenager feel good about leaving the comfort of home to start over. It was sold as an opportunity for a better life, but I didn’t understand. I was never asked if it was okay. A big change was happening, but not because I chose it.
We had going-away parties and laughed at gifts of cowboy boots, candy bars shaped like potatoes, and jokes about wearing 501 Levi jeans (which in Atlanta were only known for the farming commercials, I still have never owned a pair). My mom worked hard to celebrate a new home, new friends and a new school. At times her efforts inspired excitement, intrigue or curiosity. But they never really calmed the anger I felt over my lack of control. I was scared of the unknown. I was scared of change. What teen wouldn’t be a little concerned when her shopping habit was going from a four-story mall to no mall at all!
Soon, the moving trucks came and packed up my 13 years. The house was empty but I distinctly remember how full my heart was with memories I knew I would hold onto forever. I truly do cherish them to this day.
When our plane took off, my mom sat next to her best friend and started sobbing. She was worried they had made the wrong decision. I don’t remember the details of why my mom had to end up using a bra as a tissue to wipe her face, but I do remember the absurdity of the moment moved us all from tears to laughter. At that moment, we turned a corner and started to look toward the future.
It still took years for me to understand why my parents made such a drastic move from Georgia to Idaho, but the story does have a happy ending. I grew to love this state. I even left for many years and still came back. I have a heart full of new cherished memories here. And Boise got a mall.
Well, I just experienced another large life change. Another move in fact. And this move has worked incredibly hard to get the best of me. We all respond to change differently and that is a key to remember. For years, my response to difficult life challenges was to stuff my emotions away through eating. I have worked very hard to ensure I don’t do that anymore but it means navigating through difficult feelings in a new way. It still takes practice. I’m digging deep. It is why I have not written in weeks. My head is down and I am working hard to push through. I am determined and I’m already starting to see signs of turning that corner. I am a work in progress and when times are hard I remember I have already survived lots of hard. You have too.
Whatever change you are facing remember that change is uncomfortable. But believe it or not, uncomfortable is where the good starts to happen. You cannot always control the changes but you can control how you respond. Cherish the memories of the past. Put your energy into what is to come and not on what is lost. And thanks, Mom and Dad!
TIP: Don’t focus on what could possibly go wrong. Consider everything that could go right.