{"id":10354,"date":"2015-05-08T17:58:46","date_gmt":"2015-05-08T21:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=10354"},"modified":"2015-05-08T17:58:46","modified_gmt":"2015-05-08T21:58:46","slug":"jumping-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2015\/05\/jumping-in.html","title":{"rendered":"jumping in"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"via<\/a>
via flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we were trying to decide whether to have a second child — considering expen$e$, time, care needs — my beloved mother-in-law said something I’ve taken to heart in many other decisions: one takes all your time; two can’t do more than that.<\/i><\/p>\n

It’s become a litmus test for me — will this really change things in negative ways? Or does the joy inherent in the change(s) outweigh those worries?<\/p>\n

And then? You just jump in.<\/p>\n

Right now, my beloved & I are working hard to decide on a big move. Remember: you’re talking to two people who thought nothing about moving to a country most folks couldn’t find on a map (Algeria). The same folks who later would take their infant to Saudi Arabia and live for years. The same folks who think it’s perfectly sensible for their younger son to tour the world on a shoestring budget.<\/p>\n

We like<\/i>\u00a0adventures, in other words.<\/p>\n

But we also know we’re no longer in our 20s, as we were for Alger. Or in our 30s & 40s, as we were in Saudi. We need doctors, and access to certain kinds of shopping. Mostly, however, we need a house. \ud83d\ude42 And that is a BIG ‘need’!<\/p>\n

\"via<\/a>
via google<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The house we live in now, despite its raffish need for paint & polish, is perfect. Well…paint, polish, and it would be nice if it were only one story! Not to mention we both HATE moving. I’m worse than my beloved, given the numerous moves of my peripatetic childhood. Traveller children never are able to say ‘where I’m from’; we often imprint on places that were never really home. Certainly that’s true of me.<\/p>\n

Now, ‘home’ is where my family is. But since our sons aren’t where my sisters are, there’s a decision to be made. And today? I think we realised we’ve made it. We’ve been looking at houses — seriously looking, that is; I often cruise houses for fun! — for about a year now. And today we found the only ‘perfect’ one to date. Will we buy it? Who knows? Lots of questions before we can answer that one. Still, now we know that the chaos of moving is something we can face, given the right house.<\/p>\n

And that’s the thing: sometimes you just have to jump in. Remember that old saying?\u00a0Jump, and the universe will catch you.<\/em> That’s what I’m thinking — we’ll jump, and it will all work out. There WILL be the right house, and we’ll move. Sometime during our lengthy conversations, when we weren’t watching? We stepped past the ‘should we?’ line to the ‘going to’ space. That threshold has been crossed.<\/p>\n

Now? We’re just waiting on a place to land. A home, as it were. Even if initially it’s only a house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we were trying to decide whether to have a second child — considering expen$e$, time, care needs — my beloved mother-in-law said something I’ve taken to heart in many other decisions: one takes all your time; two can’t do more than that. 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