Recently I had someone say to me that they did not understand how I could move as much as I have moved in my life and it made me think about how my “normal” is not anyone else’s normal.  I never thought much about it but when people say that I have moved a lot it makes me think that I need to stop and count up the number of moves.

As a child and until I was 22 years old I had moved 6 times.  That does not count individual college dorms and apartments but you get the idea.  Being a “PK” (preacher’s kid) that was actually a pretty moderate number of moves.

Since Chris and I have been married we have moved locations 12 times with number 13 hopefully coming up this year.  This does not include all of the temporary housing, hotel living and my non-existent move to Texas last year.  Honestly I don’t think that that is a lot.  Let’s see – 13 times in almost 33 years of marriage does not really seem like that much to me when we have had long stays of 8 and 9 years in a couple of places.

But I understand when someone questions how I can put down roots and feel like anyplace is home when I know that it is not going to be my forever home.  This is how I view it.

Each place that we have moved has afforded us new opportunities.  New opportunities are good things.  It allows us to grow and explore and not become complacent about life.

I have a network of friends all over the United States and Australia.  While I have not counted up the number of those friends I know that I have far more friendships and relationships with people from various walks of life than a lot of my friends who have always stayed put have just because of that moving experience.  That to me is priceless.

I believe it has made our children more adaptable.  Both of them were real troopers when there was a move involved.  We made a conscious decision to stay put when they were in high school and that was the absolute best thing we could have done but they always adapted well.  I truly believe that that ability to adapt and adjust has helped them as adults.

When I think about the friends that I have made everywhere I have realized that I am able to have friendships based on the here and now.  Not that any of my friends have any real deep, dark secrets but it is always nice to just make friendships based on the here and now without any knowledge of what might have come before. There is plenty of time to learn those “secrets” of the past and it has allowed me to make friendships based on who that person is in the moment.  That is  a pretty amazing thing.

So when someone is incredulous at my moving history I just have to remember that my normal is not their normal and that is just fine.  I can never fully put myself in anyone else’s shoes and I am pretty darn comfortable in mine.  Which are sandals at the moment.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I would love to hear your thoughts on moving or staying in one place. There are benefits to both without a doubt.