I’m sitting in a blank space, one that is no longer mine. The furniture and everything that once filled this place have all been either packed or sold.
Terror of this moment has haunted me for months and yet as soon as the truck pulled away with what little we are shipping back to the US, I was at once filled with an overwhelming sense of fullness. Even when I hardly have anything but the clothes on my back, I still feel like I have everything.
A blank page can feel overwhelming. It stares us down. Intimidates. Terrifies. It represents…
Emptiness.
But if we can dig deep within, we will see it for what it truly is… a moment of infinite possibility! When nothing is written and absolute freedom demands that we open our arms wide and embrace, not what is, but what can be. Instead of nothing… we have it all.
So, there it is… Not an end, but a new beginning…
A clean slate…
A fresh start…
I have no idea where the next chapter is going to take us.
I have no idea where we will live or where my kids will go to school.
Nothing is certain and while I know I should probably feel afraid, I instead feel free.
I am going to “The Land of the free. The Home of the brave.” How often I recited those words as a child with only a fleeting understanding of what they meant, but today they leap from the page of this chapter of my life and I feel compelled to embody those very principles.
I must be brave to be free and I must be free to be brave.
And so I am embracing this blank space… this blank page staring me in the face with courage and hope, excitement and fear, and great expectations that the land of opportunity will welcome me back and perhaps have even saved a little place of possibility for me…
___________________
Photography: Jack Fussell
[email protected] says
I just wanted to write and say your words resonate so much right now. I am in the process of packing up and returning to a place I left 16 years ago, now with a husband and three kids. I am terrified! It is the most stressful move I have ever made, I guess because the kids are bigger now. It is inspiring to hear that you are experiencing a feeling of freedom, I can see that as our move gets closer my feelings are changing, I guess because our apartment no longer feels like a home … good luck with your move 🙂
[email protected] says
I just wanted to write and say your words resonate so much right now. I am in the process of packing up and returning to a place I left 16 years ago, now with a husband and three kids. I am terrified! It is the most stressful move I have ever made, I guess because the kids are bigger now. It is inspiring to hear that you are experiencing a feeling of freedom, I can see that as our move gets closer my feelings are changing, I guess because our apartment no longer feels like a home … good luck with your move 🙂
[email protected] says
I just wanted to write and say your words resonate so much right now. I am in the process of packing up and returning to a place I left 16 years ago, now with a husband and three kids. I am terrified! It is the most stressful move I have ever made, I guess because the kids are bigger now. It is inspiring to hear that you are experiencing a feeling of freedom, I can see that as our move gets closer my feelings are changing, I guess because our apartment no longer feels like a home … good luck with your move 🙂
[email protected] says
Hello my dear…just at the moment i have read through your lines and was so touching of what you say and feel at the moment. I’m more than sure you will find a new place for you and your family where you could open a next chapter of your life. I wish you more from the heart all the best for this upcoming journey, take care, rock the land of the brave and yes find your little wonders again whereever you will wander…a big hug and good luck for everything…from germany and your old blogging your way – classmate ines ♡♡♡
[email protected] says
Thank you ever so much!! xx
[email protected] says
Hello my dear…just at the moment i have read through your lines and was so touching of what you say and feel at the moment. I’m more than sure you will find a new place for you and your family where you could open a next chapter of your life. I wish you more from the heart all the best for this upcoming journey, take care, rock the land of the brave and yes find your little wonders again whereever you will wander…a big hug and good luck for everything…from germany and your old blogging your way – classmate ines ♡♡♡
[email protected] says
Thank you ever so much!! xx
[email protected] says
Hello my dear…just at the moment i have read through your lines and was so touching of what you say and feel at the moment. I’m more than sure you will find a new place for you and your family where you could open a next chapter of your life. I wish you more from the heart all the best for this upcoming journey, take care, rock the land of the brave and yes find your little wonders again whereever you will wander…a big hug and good luck for everything…from germany and your old blogging your way – classmate ines ♡♡♡
[email protected] says
Thank you ever so much!! xx
[email protected] says
Safe travels. Enjoy the journey on the way to you next destination.
[email protected] says
Safe travels. Enjoy the journey on the way to you next destination.
[email protected] says
Safe travels. Enjoy the journey on the way to you next destination.
Anonymous says
[…] After more than a decade spent abroad, mostly in urban settings, we are finally home… back in the leafy suburbs of Atlaaanta where we met and first got started. (We draw out our a’s down here, yaaa’ll.) […]
Anonymous says
[…] After more than a decade spent abroad, mostly in urban settings, we are finally home… back in the leafy suburbs of Atlaaanta where we met and first got started. (We draw out our a’s down here, yaaa’ll.) […]
Anonymous says
[…] After more than a decade spent abroad, mostly in urban settings, we are finally home… back in the leafy suburbs of Atlaaanta where we met and first got started. (We draw out our a’s down here, yaaa’ll.) […]
[email protected] says
Valentina, Jack and family — we are so happy and thrilled to have you all as our new neighbors and I only hope we can make G/Eagles the place you will never leave — or, at least not too soon. P. Royak
[email protected] says
We are filled with delight beyond words to have found a place so warm and welcoming. To have found such quick friends of the heart is a true gift!
[email protected] says
Valentina, Jack and family — we are so happy and thrilled to have you all as our new neighbors and I only hope we can make G/Eagles the place you will never leave — or, at least not too soon. P. Royak
[email protected] says
We are filled with delight beyond words to have found a place so warm and welcoming. To have found such quick friends of the heart is a true gift!
[email protected] says
Valentina, Jack and family — we are so happy and thrilled to have you all as our new neighbors and I only hope we can make G/Eagles the place you will never leave — or, at least not too soon. P. Royak
[email protected] says
We are filled with delight beyond words to have found a place so warm and welcoming. To have found such quick friends of the heart is a true gift!
Anonymous says
[…] that mean for you? I hope it will make you feel as excited as it does me. It smells a little like freedom to me! Oh, to have the world of possibility at our fingertips and the freedom to pursue whatever it is […]
Anonymous says
[…] that mean for you? I hope it will make you feel as excited as it does me. It smells a little like freedom to me! Oh, to have the world of possibility at our fingertips and the freedom to pursue whatever it is […]
Anonymous says
[…] that mean for you? I hope it will make you feel as excited as it does me. It smells a little like freedom to me! Oh, to have the world of possibility at our fingertips and the freedom to pursue whatever it is […]