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Ten Things of Thankful: Westward Ho! Retirement Sabbatical

 

Families stand in front of two covered wagons

I have always loved the above photo. The youngest child is my grandfather. I don't know who the woman in the right of the photo is. With her hands on her hips, and staring at the back of the man in front of her, she appears to be none-too-happy about the situation. And what was the situation, anyway? Were these people relocating, or simply out for a picnic? 

Change is hard. It takes time to wrap our heads around new things (just think about changing from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time--or vice versa!) Looking for the good in whatever situation helps us handle the not-so-wonderful parts. How can life be an adventure without change? 

As you might have gathered from the title of this post, John and I have some imminent changes. He has decided to take a sabbatical from retirement for about a year and has accepted a new job in California.  There are things about this that make both of us relate to the hands-on-hips woman above, but there are also things that we are thankful for, and those things, of course, are what will find their way to this Ten Things of Thankful post:

1. I'm thankful that John is excited about this particular job. Work takes up so much time; it is nice when it can be something enjoyable and fulfilling. 

2. I'm thankful that the job is for only about a year. 

3. I'm thankful we will be returning to our home here when the job is over.

4. I'm thankful we were able to find a furnished rental house.

5. I'm thankful we don't have to pack up our entire house.

6. I'm thankful our son and his girlfriend will move upstairs from the basement apartment and take care of our home while we're gone.

7. I'm thankful Drexel will be coming with us. 

8. I'm thankful the rental house is in a somewhat rural setting and has shade trees.

9. I'm thankful we are moving when the temperatures are reasonable, and not when California is over 100 degrees. 

10. I'm thankful thankful thankful we will be close to our grandchildren! 

The move will most likely occur sometime in November. I anticipate that my participation in the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop will be spotty for a while, but I promise I will try to keep my hands off my hips and find the thankfuls in this new adventure! 

What are you thankful for this week? Leave a comment below--or tips on how to maximize space in a "cozy" one-bedroom house! And check out the Ten Things of Thankful blog hop to see what other bloggers are thankful for!

Comments

  1. messymimiOctober 28, 2023 at 6:26 PM

    Congratulations and i pray you find this to be a wonderful adventure and your husband finds it an excellent use of his time and skills.

    As for maximizing space, pull what you think you need, then pack only half!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiOctober 29, 2023 at 2:19 PM

      That's good advice! We're planning on just packing what fits in two cars, so that in itself limits what we end up taking. It will be an adventure!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousOctober 29, 2023 at 9:56 AM

    Sounds exciting and fun. Plus the fact that pieces* seem to be falling into place quite nicely.
    Looking forward to TToT s v2

    *the details of living arrangements, which in this modern era can be even more challenging than once before.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiOctober 29, 2023 at 2:25 PM

      Yes, everything seems to be falling into place. I bounce back and forth between feeling like everything is under control and thinking I must be forgetting something important because things seem too easy. LOL

      Delete
  3. Dyanne @ I Want BacksiesOctober 29, 2023 at 7:47 PM

    It happened! It will be an adventure, for sure! That photo is so amazing. My great, great grandparents traveled by covered wagon due to Order 11 during the Civil War and my great, great grandfather was accidentally shot and killed by another member of the wagon train who was cleaning a gun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. KristiOctober 29, 2023 at 9:25 PM

      Oh wow! That's quite the family history story!

      Delete

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