A Sort of Interview

We may need one of these for Ryan. Photo courtesy of: http://www.onemoregadget.com/carry-on-luggage-you-can-ride-on/

Our version is cheaper, but that thing above has straps…

Many friends and family members have asked us questions about our pending “adventure” if you will.

I thought I’d post some of the questions and my answers, or lack thereof, in case you may have wondered the same…

Jason got a great job, so are you going to stay in Colorado?  

• He did get an awesome job! In fact, it is exactly what he wanted to do at his former organization but with a larger global impact. Daily as he learns the ins and outs of his new position and responsibilities his smile grows wider seeing the specificity of his hearts’ desires answered in the midst of what was a very trying time. We are planning on calling Colorado “home” when we are back in the States, but for us, “home” is wherever the people we call family are located, and currently they reside in RI, MN, SD, FL, CA, and CO.

Why do you want to sell your house if he got a great job, you can still pay your mortage?  

• Before Jason met me, he moved from one side of a lake to another, then to the college dorms. I grew up as a builder’s kid where every home we ever lived in was for sale. Over the past 20 years we have moved for both of us, whether continued schooling or job placement. Jason and I both said when we first had kids that we wanted to invite them into our lives, our stories, and then grow our stories together as a family. Jason and I are lovers of travel, people who love meeting others, seeing God’s world and how we can use our gifts and strengths to share God’s love wherever we go. So, we want to sell our house in order to be freed up to do just that. We took the Dave Ramsey course on Financial Peace and are debt free, except the mortgage. Jason’s job entails a lot of travel and we want to be together and go, too. Keeping a house “back home” would be a mental and financial responsibility we want to be freed of for a season. It doesn’t mean we won’t get a house some other time in our lives, but for now, we are hitting the road, or the air, or whatever mode of transport available 😉
• I love houses, but I know there is no such thing as a “perfect one” because it’s subjective. We do know we don’t need as much space as we have, nor do we want that much in the future. The idea of having a home right now feels confining and we’re all up for the adventure, so we’re going for it!

Where are you moving?

• Part of Jason’s job, one he can do from home, entails building relationships with partner countries. With office locations and colleagues (and family in the above locations) in WA, CA, Mexico, Toronto, Washington, DC, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Geneva, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and NZ, there are several places we will wind up visiting for a month or so here and there. As far as “moving” when we are in the States, we’ll drive our car and are open to renting furnished places, long-term house sitting, hotels for short term (remember, he’ll be working from home…and I’ll be homeschooling and running a non-profit), and when we are in locations where there is an in-country office, those rentals can be smaller since he’ll have a place to go each day. Em wanted her own room, but I asked her if she wants to go to Paris and split a room with her brother, or not go to Paris. She will see as we go places how beds are a blessing and simply a place to lay our heads at night!

When are you moving?

• I’ll admit, sometimes I put the cart before the horse, like when I sold the kitchen table months prior to actually selling the house…but this is what we know: Jason pulled a permit and framed in the basement and is now waiting on the inspector. Once it’s inspected the dry wallers will come and do their job. Another inspection. Then Jason and I and anyone who wants a free lunch will paint the basement. This will enable us to know an asking price for our home that is fair to market value. Hopefully someone will want to buy it sooner than later. We don’t really have a time frame, but in the meantime I’m just purging and downsizing our daily needs.

Will you have a home base?

• We don’t really know the answer to this right now. It literally is up to God and however He directs us. Right now we have a few choices, one being selling everything but a few family/personal things, putting those into storage, and then setting off to wherever to get the travel rolling, if you will. Another option is to put those few items into a small apartment in Colorado near family and then base out of there. Like I said, our family is our “home base.”

What does “purging” mean, exactly?

• There are several ways to purge, and an expert is a fantastic person to bring on board when tackling something so large as purging a 3300 square foot home into 4 carry-on bags and a small 5 x 10 storage facility. My friend and owner of “Funktional Home”, Alexis Rubin, has given me many tips over the years. I’m putting to use her wisdom, as well as throwing caution to the wind and getting rid of more than is probably “normal” or “necessary.” This process takes a while, I’ll admit, but everything falls into these categories: sell, give away, thrift, throw away, carry-on, or storage.

What about sentimental things?

• When we knelt with Noah on the floor of The Children’s Hospital of Denver, part of me died. Some selfish parts of me died, but also some good parts of me died, I won’t lie. One of those parts was sentimentality. The “free spirit” part of me increased all the more, and in my head and heart I kind of said, “If I can’t have him, I don’t want stuff that reminds me I can’t have him…” I’m not projecting my beliefs on you, we are all unique and different, I’m simply relaying my heart and perspective: life is short, things here on earth are gifts to enjoy but I can’t take them with me, and if they ever “own” me then my heart isn’t satisfied with the Only One Who can satisfy. Sure, we’ll put a few things in storage that are family things, boxes of pictures, things that are special, that kind of stuff, but worst case scenario, what if that burns down while we are gone somewhere? What then? Since Noah, stuff doesn’t have a hold on me, not matter who it reminds me of…does that make any sense?

When you say you are “selling everything”, can you define that?

• Everything, according to Merriam-Webster, means: all that is, all that is important. When we say “everything” we mean a lot of stuff. We are selling the house, all furniture except for 5-6 pieces, for sure one car/maybe both and then getting just one new-to-us car, clothes, extra dishes, decor, outdoor stuff, you name it. We will keep some toys and books, the treadmill, bikes, the dog and fish, our computers, pictures, and one set of dishes, though I’m kind of over dishes so we may skip them and eat off butcher paper (I kid…sorta)
• My approach to this uber-purge is, in my head, we are starting with just the four of us. Then, I’m imagining each of us has a rolling carry-on suitcase and one carry on bag. From this mental picture it is easy to say, “Well, nothing else fits.” Except for the part where we’ll possibly do some long-term renting at some point, so that’s where the small storage comes in.
• I’m serious when I say, if you are a girlfriend and you want some clothes, shoes or accessories, keep your ears open…I’m going to have a night where you can come “shop” in my closet and donate money for what you want to go towards a Bevy Kids outreach. (My  mom and sisters get first dibs, though.)
• A few times in between homes, Jason and I, and Em at the time, have lived out of carry-on’s. At one point for a month we had two place settings of dishes, one pot, a towel a piece, and one good knife. We have backpacked and know how to pack very little. Plus, think about it!!!  Every time you go on vacation you pack a ton of outfits and end up wearing the same 3 things…just like at home how you only wear 1/4, if even, of your closet. So, the rest is purge-worthy.

Will you blog about your adventures?

• Yep. Just like I started blogging to tell family and friends what was going on with Noah when they couldn’t be at the hospital with us, this platform will remain a space for sharing stories and pictures of wherever we are when our family and friends aren’t able to be close.

Your mom has cancer. How can you move away?

• This is a good question and I’m not offended by it. Thanks for asking. My Dad also has Parkinson’s and doesn’t feel great a lot of the time. The first thing my Mom said to me when she learned about Jason’s job was, “Don’t you DARE stick around here just because I have cancer! You need to go wherever God leads you to go!” And we will…but this is also why we aren’t going anywhere permanently. One request of Jason’s job was to relocate to one of the cities where they have an office, but his colleagues live all over the world, and he shared a bit of our personal story with my parents’ health, and they totally understood. So, we aren’t “moving away”. We also hope that when my parents are feeling well enough here and there, they will join us and come along around the world. And we want them to see the world, too, if The Lord makes a way for it!