Farmgirl Katie

Not a Southern Girl After All?

It will be my thirtieth move.

I am ready to root. (This time I mean it!) To find a fixer upper and settle in. Paint the walls yellow. We’re ready to go back home. With all of its downfalls, Colorado is our birthplace, our home, but most importantly, it’s where our children are.

No one asked, so few have known about the depression I have had since coming here. I cried all the way here. I wish we had never come here on vacation. I wish we had never moved here. I feel as if I have wasted a year of my life. (I know, I’m pretty dramatic.) But, here are the important lessons that I have learned:

1-Even if the grass is literally greener on the other side, it doesn’t mean it’s better. In fact, it usually has fleas and ticks in it. (Help us, baby Jesus, we are done with bugs. As are our animals.)

2-There is NOTHING more important than family. Priority #1, our marriage, our kids and grandkids. My granddaughter and I had the most incredible relationship. When I moved, that changed. I destroyed that. I am missing time. I am missing birthdays and events and life. I am missing my friends.

3-Avoid debt like the plague. It is a prison and makes for desperate decisions and a whole lot of stress. We were able to pay off our debt and student loans when we sold our house, but I wish we had bought in the town over. Of course, then we wouldn’t have realized where our hearts are. We would always be wondering what it would be like to live somewhere else. But if we had never gotten in over our heads with debt, we wouldn’t have acted out of fear.

4-Material items are not all they’re cracked up to be. Our house is doubled the size of our last one. It is magnificent, perched on a hill at the edge of the forest. Everything new. It’s more to clean. More to upkeep. And I would give it all away. (and I probably will have to because the size of house we can afford in Colorado is…small.) See number 2.

So even though my sadness has eclipsed most of the past nine months, there are always gifts amongst the lessons. I came here pretty burnt out, just beat down. I stopped talking to customers, friends, most family, just up and ran away. We were one emergency away from losing everything. We had to release our farm animals to other people and give up our dreams because of debt, but now we have a fresh start. I am refreshed. Doug has a clearer idea of what he wants to have included in his work and social life. We know what it is like to live somewhere else. We have seen and experienced some awe-inspiring things while here and have met really great people. Alabama is a beautiful place to live. I hope our house will sell quickly once we list it in July. I hope a house in our price range comes up for sale where we’re looking. All these many things out of my control. So the biggest lesson now is to trust, have faith, be thankful, and move forward.

There is something to be said about familiarity. I just noticed that the word, family, is in that word!

One final thing: Be careful what you wish for. Be careful what you manifest! You will get it, and once the ball starts rolling, it can be hard to stop! Be mindful.

We’ll see you soon, Colorado.

18 comments

  1. oh Katie your words & heart have resonated with me. Thank you for sharing your heart and for you to be back in Colorado with Family is a gift like no other.
    Come July all will be in order WELCOME HOME💛💛💛💛💛

    Reply

      • Even though I just met you at BelleMont Celtic Fest this past weekend, I felt you had amazing energy. I am so thankful for you and the conversation and contact that we shared. I hope to continue using your products and to keep in touch with you when you move. Maybe we can get together again at some point before you leave Alabama.

        ~Vanessa

      • Did you tell me you live in Florence? I’m fighting a bit of the crud right now but when I’m well I’d love to get together sometime.  ~Vanessa

        Yahoo Mail: Search, Organize, Conquer

  2. Oh Katie,

    I was wondering where you moved too and haven’t seen much activity from you.

    My life is very parallel to yours. I recently gave up my little farm in Ohio to move to Louisiana to care for my twin granddaughters while their parents work. This will be my 3rd summer here and my last. I miss all of my family up north and praying that my son in law will get transferred soon back home.

    I have moved about 10 times in the last 12 years looking for that perfect place with my husband. He hated Ohio but grew up there and spent the majority of his life there and he to has realized where home is. We do have child and grandchildren in other states but most are in Ohio and that is where we are finally go to hang up our hats.

    I miss my garden, roses and family and friends back home and wishing this will be our last move.

    Hang in there and Welcome home soon.

    patti

    Reply

  3. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. On a brighter note with all the moves you sure do keep your personal items and “stuff “ down to a minimum.
    People ask me quite often where we are going when my husband retires (August) but I don’t really want to go anywhere. Our grandkids are here (Colorado). As many problems we have here, it’s still a really good place to live.

    Best wishes

    Reply

  4. Katie (and Doug):

    I know how it is to want your family nearby. But we learn ALOT more from our mistakes/misadventures than we do from our successes. Like you said, “if we hadn’t moved, we would be wondering what it would be like.” Now you know. Your heart will be fuller once you are back home. I love you both and will be glad to have you closer. Maybe we can get together then.

    Reply

    • It is hard because Doug is very happy here and does not want to go back. Colorado is really not a great place to live anymore, but I want our family close. We’ll see how this all works out. Love to you and your family!

      Reply

      • Great attitude! You’ve almost made it through the hottest, buggiest summer on record. It was miserable for us natives too! (I’m next door to you in Georgia) I hope our Southern Hospitality makes up for all the nonsense.

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