Moving Day

Our house is empty, the truck is full, and many painful goodbyes have been said.  Tomorrow is the day we will begin our cross-country move from Rehoboth, NM to Walkersville, MD.

Benji and Hanwi love the moving truck (thanks for this photo, Deanna!)

There are so many thoughts going through my mind right now, it's hard to even begin this post.  Mostly today I've felt a deep sadness for leaving New Mexico...but there is some excitement, too, for our new home.  Maybe it will be best just to give a list of what I'll miss most about the Land of Enchantment and what I am looking forward to about Maryland.

What we will miss (in no particular order):

-Green Chili (especially on pizza!)
-The big, big blue sky...
-The way the light changes on the Hogbacks and the Red Rocks, from sunrise to sunset

-Walks and jogs around campus (and Jonathan being able to walk to work!)
-Traveling to amazing places--my favorite spot is the San Juan mountains of southern Colorado
-Watching Benji play with his little friends

-Our amazing church
-The smell of sagebrush
-Late summer wildflowers

-Hot air balloons
-Lots and lots of sunshine
-And, most of all, the people we've met here...such dear friends that we call them family...we have felt so embraced and supported, and words cannot express how much we will miss them.

(In fact, there are just a few things about New Mexico I will NOT miss: the sticky red mud that entrapped our car several times; Wal-Mart on the first weekend of the month; and, most of all, the spring winds that leave sand in your ears, up your skirt, and everywhere in between!!)

I feel like I am in a bit of a time warp because we are moving back to the house I grew up in, on a small farm near Frederick, MD.  Benji will play in yard as I did about 25 years ago; our new baby will sleep in the same room, in the same crib, that I did as a baby!  I am stuck between fears that I will feel like I have never grown up, and excitement that my children will enjoy this place that I have loved so much my entire life.  I think the latter emotions are beginning to triumph!

The Farm

The reasons for our move are complex but the main motivation is to be closer to both of our families.  My parents are planning to build their own little place right on the farm so they will literally be next door!  We are so excited for Benji and Baby to grow up in daily contact with their Nonnie and Papa.  I have many other relatives in town, and much of the rest of our families live in the corridor from MD to NC (about 6 hours away).

We can't wait to be able to attend more of the "little" family events and celebrations with both the Newman and Nicodemus clans.  I also hope I can reconnect with old friends and also make lots of new friends in my new life stage of motherhood. And then there are all the little traditions I am excited to share with my children: picking blueberries, going to the Frederick Fair, hunting for shark teeth at the Bay, eating produce from our own garden, even just sitting on the front stoop watching the cars and trucks go by...It was a wonderful place to grow up, and I think Benji and whoever else comes into our family will be blessed growing up on the farm, too.

Still, I have New Mexico in my blood now.  This is where we feel like we really became a family and we have too many memories here for Rehoboth to ever cease being our second home.  We hope to visit again soon, and visit often!!