It's just about that time. As many of you already know, Ryder and I are making the move to Joplin, Missouri very soon. Paul's been there since the first of this month.... Life has been in upheaval for awhile now. We've felt the change coming since early this year, and it has been very slllloooowwwwwly happening. This change of job, home, location, etcetera, etcetera is good. Paul's new job is going very well and he's enjoying it and there's stability and room for movement, and that's all a huge blessing for us. We feel really grateful that everything has fallen into place for all this to happen. We don't know what's in store for the future, but we're so happy to finally be in the same city permanently in 2 1/2 weeks. Paul's weekend trips have been short to say the least, but worth it. We're so excited for this new chapter to begin and watch it unfold as it may.I have to say that I have loved to travel my whole life. I spent my time growing up dreaming about it, fantasizing about it, and so excited when I did it. Now that I'm older, it's on a whole different level, since I have Paul and Ryder. And I want so much for Ryder to see the world, and learn about other places and people firsthand. It's been really good for us to live outside Utah and experience new things. Hard, but good. And our end goal is to live there again. But the more I travel, the more I realize that the world just keeps getting bigger.
This year has been so uncertain and had lots of ups and downs, and we're so happy to know where we're going now. I have quite a bit of anxiety in getting accustomed to a new city and new people, and I am scared that I won't fit in or it won't feel like home. Ames has been amazing, and such a great place to live and call home. But I love learning by being somewhere and just taking it all in. So, as we move, I am optimistic and hopeful that everything will eventually fall into place...
Fun fact for all the McFarlane family--Billie Jean lived in Ames, Iowa while she got her degree at Iowa State, and she also lived in Joplin, Missouri!! Crazy, huh? She literally just lived down the street from where we live now in Ames. I have been joking that London's up next for us! Well, at least for a visit sometime..... ;)
Here are some quotes that reflect my feelings on travel...
"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." -Robert Louis Stevenson
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain
"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen." -Benjamin Disraeli
