These contradictory thoughts have been popping into my head often as my husband and I completed our move from Minnesota to Georgia. His final day of work was last Friday, and by Sunday we were packed up and on the road. We spent a day in Chicago visiting family, then took two days to drive down to our new home.

We’ve made the drive to Chicago several times a year during the time we’ve lived in Minnesota, so we’ve gotten used to the landmarks, the highway signs, and the scenery we pass, especially during the long stretch through Wisconsin. Driving through Indiana felt much the same, but with a different look and feel to the landscape, and new sights to see along the way. I was mesmerized by the hypnotic effect of a wind farm we drove past, with hundreds of windmills stretching far into the horizon, doing what seemed like a synchronized dance routine.

It caught me by surprise when we reached the mountains in Tennessee, although it shouldn’t have. I always knew they were there, I just wasn’t used to seeing them on one of our long-distance drives. It gave a new feel to an old, familiar experience.

As we get settled in, I’m sure I’ll go through more of the same – especially as we develop new routines in our day-to-day lives. Right now, I’m still a little disoriented as to what day it is and what I should be doing, or what I would have been doing if we were still in Minnesota. Writing my column on Monday, and posting it on Friday. Bible Study on Tuesday morning, Toastmasters on Thursday. Writing group on the first Friday of the month, and book club on the fourth Wednesday.

In time, I know I’ll be joining new organizations and activities, and establishing new rituals and routines here in Georgia. I’ll also spend time exploring our beautiful new surroundings, and simply enjoying life with my newly-retired husband. I’ll stay in touch with old friends while meeting and getting to know new ones. And I’ll thank God every day for the blessings and treasures that are still all around me, no matter where I happen to be.

Many things surrounding me are new, and different, and unfamiliar right now. But I know that that’s just temporary, and it’s just on the surface. Deep down, where it really matters – both within me and all around me – everything, thankfully, is still the same.

March 10, 2017
©Betty Liedtke, 2017

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