The Unexpected Move - Part II

I read a little piece recently that addressed the question, "What do I Like to Do?".  I can most readily answer that question by telling you what I DON'T  like to do.  I don't like moving.  But here I am, moving again, at 77 years of age.

At an age when people are downsizing, we are packing again. No one died. Our financial circumstances haven't changed. Health isn't an issue. We have chosen to move because there is simply no compelling reason to stay.  We have no family here, no relationships rooted in decades of time, solidified through work, school, church connections, or child-rearing.  Yes, we have friends here with treasured routines in place but the roots are shallow and as we discovered, early last year, easily disrupted and torn apart.

One of the things I've learned, in my eight years here, is that friendship is layered.  In a small community, the passage of time, for long residing residents, creates deep roots with one strong, nourishing tap root.  There isn't much room for groups to expand.  Like an extended family, these communal friendships have shared stories that provide the glue for its continuity. We share none of these experience that bind us to the community. There will be people we will miss and, in fact, already do miss.  But our children are in Indiana and Tennessee. And, of even greater importance, our grandchildren are in Tennessee.  The almost 3 hour drive to visit them becomes more tiring as we age and the time between visits becomes longer.  So, it was time to move; time to reinvent our life just one more time.