Moving Then and Now

In the first 10 or 12 years Tommy and I were married, we moved about 10 times. Sometimes it was across the country, complements of the US Marine Corp.  At other times it was because we wanted a new adventure, to see a different part of the country or on one occasion we had a mean neighbor who did not like kids.

Once we moved from Georgia to Kentucky because of a commercial.  Dotty West sang, "I Was Raised on Country Sunshine".  I loved that song and the commercial. It featured an old two story country store, with a big porch running the width of the structure. The young couple owned the store and lived upstairs.  I wanted to do that.  I was tired of city life.  I wanted Lisa to know her family in Kentucky and Tennessee.  We wanted to go home. 

 So we packed up and headed for Geoffrey Myers old home.  We loved it there. We planted our first garden, got pregnant and enjoyed our families. We lived in Kentucky and Tennessee for about three years. Then we moved to Missouri.  Rented for awhile and finally bought our home we live in today.  Lisa was tired of changing schools. We had moved her 3 times in 3 years.  She said she didn't want to move anymore.  That was all it took and we settled down.  However, I still get the urge to move from time to time.

 Each time I go on vacation, I want to move to the place we are visiting.  It never fails.  I start figuring the cost and then the idea of someone else living in our home, on our land,  I change my mind. 

It is the adventure, starting over, making a new nest, seeing new areas with fresh eyes,  that I like.  I also think it helps to make a couple, just starting out, closer. You only have each other to rely on, until new friends are made. I wouldn't have changed a single move or experience.  It was all part of the process of growing up.

However, when we were moving 40 years ago, things were a lot more simple and cheaper.  When we found a place we liked, we called the landlord and asked to view the place.  If we liked it we usually paid $100 deposit, signed a year lease and moved in. 

 Not so today. It takes thousands of dollars to rent a house on either coast.  The red tape is ridiculous.  Letters from your employer, letters from your last 2 places of residence, pay stubs, and credit reports.  The only thing Melodi, my daughter who is moving to California, did not have to do was sign her name in blood and promise not to die within the next year!!!  And heaven help you if you have a dog!! The deposit for a dog is more than my medical bill was for giving birth to Tami!  It seems the world is trying to price itself out of business.

Times change, progress is costly. I flew 1585 miles in 3 1/2 hours. A GPS on Melodi's phone gave us driving directions, found places to eat, gas up and the houses we were checking out. The realtor, Patty, lined up homes that she thought Melodi would like. Between the two of them we found everything we needed.

 It is completely different from the way Tommy and I moved.  However, the excitement of starting over is the same.  Melodi  can hardly wait and truthfully I am having a great time helping her.  Tommy and I start on a new adventure August 1st or 2nd when we join  her on the move to California, then go on vacation.  We are both excited about this trip. We have had our atlas out for a month.  Some things never change, for us this is a very good thing.

 

Paradise comes with a price...judging by my smile, I would say it is worth it.