Life Changes: Well, we did it.
If you’ve been following along, you know that we finally moved over to the Island. Our last blog post was all about our epic adventure at Universal right before the holidays, to celebrate birthdays, and then… we fell off the face of the earth (unless you follow on instagram).
November was a swirl of packing, shipping cars, loading our shipping container, seeing loved ones and saying our goodbyes. It was tough.
But then we were off. With over 8 checked bags, and 4 carry ons, we travelled over 3,500 miles to what has now become our home. We get a lot of questions on the logistics part of moving, and we are thinking of doing a small little series on how we actually did it. But that’s definitely a future post thing, because truth be told, we’d have to find the right layout, since there are so many moving parts.
Anyways, once we arrived…
we sort of HIT the ground running. Andrew started his job literally 3 days after he got here, and then we were pretty much in nesting mode. We got to unpacking and figuring out where our things were gonna go, at least the things in our suitcases. Because the arrival of the shipping container would take a few more days.
Getting adjusted to the time was a toughie, but by the time we got here, I think we were all so tired, that falling asleep was easy. Waking up early has actually become part of our normal routine. Yes, as in I’m up by 6 am. Then the shipping container arrived. This was probably my least favorite part. As glad as I was to see our stuff, the unloading would prove to be difficult. Especially, in the short amount of time we were given. The only thing that made it worth it, were the evening sunsets and wave breaks at the local park to unwind from the business of unpacking.
Cha-cha-changes…
After getting all settled in, we pretty much quickly got into the swing of things. Andrew has become a HUGE fan of his work schedule, as have I (because I love seeing him more!) I started my AMAZING job with the University of Hawaii, and Ella has been living her best life snorkeling all she can. We take our days off seriously, and use it as the ultimate excuse to explore the Island.
We’ve also been really blessed to be neighbors with an amazing local family, who’s blessed us with plants and genuine hospitality. I’m also learning how to speak the local language, and we’ve been finding ways to volunteer and give back to the local community.
Things we’re doing differently:
Since moving here, we have shifted our mindset, and have been doing a lot of things differently.
- We cook more, and only buy what we need. This might seem sort of silly, but we buy less prepackaged foods. And we just make the things we want or are craving with whole ingredients. For example, I make homemade flour tortillas instead of buying prepackaged. Or I make homemade tomato soup instead of buying from a can or jar. It helps us use up what we have at home.
- We also eat out less, and if we do go out to eat, we support local joints. There is not a lot of mainland restaurants close to us, other than fast food. But if we do occasionally go out, we try local establishments.
- We make a list and stick to a budget. A – because yes, everything is more expensive here, but MOSTLY because we are trying to waste less. We RECYCLE everything we can, cans, glass, cardboard. AND the big one, we started to COMPOST, so there is definitely less waste now, and less trash bags.
- Which brings me to another biggie. We try to use things that are eco friendly. SPF that is coral-reef safe. Cleaners that are biodegradable. Etc.
- We spend more time doing things TOGETHER. We cook dinner together, (yes, even our baby girl helps) and we watch a movie together almost every night. The weekends tend to be electronic free, and we snorkel, whale watch (my favorite!), or read books at the park. (that’s how I was able to read 10 books in January!)
In all honesty, I don’t think we thought a lot about these things before. Mostly because we were used to having everything at our fingertips. Things here are different, and I appreciate that more.
Can you imagine?
I know that moving 3500 miles away from my friends and family seemed like a wild and crazy idea to most. And in all fairness, it did feel like it while we were doing it. But now, being here, we can’t imagine ourselves anywhere else.
Like can you imagine, just packing up everything and leaving behind everything you know and love? Seems scary right?
But what if on the other side, was everything you were hoping for? A change of pace, a change of scenery, and a chance to slow down? It would be worth the risk. At least for us, it has been.
I know that Island life is not meant for everyone. Just like I know that city life is not meant for everyone. The point is to know what makes you happy, and the environment you can thrive in, and hope you can make it the best life possible for you.
Moral of the story?
We’re doing pretty dang good. Yes, we miss our family and friends (like crazy). But we check in on the daily. We are, as my husband likes to say, making our own way… and hopefully when our baby girl grows up, she’ll have the courage to chase after dreams and carve out her own path in this beautiful and complex world, because she deserves to live a life she’s proud of. As do we, and as do you.
I hope you’re making each day count. Thanks for being here… I promise to show up more often.
Until next time…
Oh, and in case you’re not following along on instagram (you totally should), you missed out on announcement: I’ve started a monthly membership of art goodies that get shipped directly to you every month! Check it out!