The Walls
Things are hanging on our walls. This is big news for us.
Since we moved from Washington, DC, to Oklahoma City in February 2014, there has been nothing on our walls. We rented a house in Oklahoma City, and we didn't expect to be there long, so we decided not to hang our art, pictures, and decorations, knowing it would just be more work to remove them and cover any holes when we left six months or at most (we thought) a year later. We had moved there to run for office, and whether we won or lost, we did not plan to get settled into that little rent house; it was a temporary dwelling space while we ran and then figured out what we would do next. Even if we had stayed in Oklahoma City, we would have looked for something bigger once Harvey was getting a paycheck again.
It turned out to be more than a year--sixteen months, to be exact--before we moved. Still, I don't regret leaving the walls in that house bare. I wanted to be settled somewhere, but not there, and it took a lot of patience to postpone that settlement until we really knew what was next for us. Those empty walls were a reminder that that we would not be stuck there forever, that something better would come.
We reached DC almost two weeks ago and moved into the house where we lived before. It, too, is a rent house, but there wasn't much debate about where, much less whether, to put things on the walls. They were going up and they were going up pretty much where they were before. For us the adorned walls signify a settled life, a contentment with the decision we've made to follow Harvey's job and move halfway across the country again.
It's a little strange returning to the same house and the same hood. We've been gone for almost a year and a half, and an eventful year and a half for us it was. Yet so far we've seamlessly transitioned back to our former home and life, already reconnecting with neighbors, church, and friends. Other than a few new babies and houses among them, things are carrying on as they did before.
I had a welcome-back dinner with one friend at the same place we had our farewell dinner when I moved. She and I are planning an outing with our kids this week, which was a weekly occurrence before. Another friend came over to catch up, and we're planning to resume our weekly coffee and accountability date soon. I've visited the grocery store, the cleaners, and the library, all with familiar faces.
And our walls look almost the same as they did before (just a tweak here and there). We don't know how long our pictures will hang on them this time around. We expect and hope it will be longer than last time, but we can't predict what doors will open or what opportunities will come our way or when God will call us to make another crazy move. We'll cover those holes when the time comes, but we're here now, pictures hung up and all, and our house already feels like home again.
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| A parting gift to remind us of our home state, from our beloved friends at Portland Avenue Baptist Church, hangs at the foot of our stairs. |
Since we moved from Washington, DC, to Oklahoma City in February 2014, there has been nothing on our walls. We rented a house in Oklahoma City, and we didn't expect to be there long, so we decided not to hang our art, pictures, and decorations, knowing it would just be more work to remove them and cover any holes when we left six months or at most (we thought) a year later. We had moved there to run for office, and whether we won or lost, we did not plan to get settled into that little rent house; it was a temporary dwelling space while we ran and then figured out what we would do next. Even if we had stayed in Oklahoma City, we would have looked for something bigger once Harvey was getting a paycheck again.
It turned out to be more than a year--sixteen months, to be exact--before we moved. Still, I don't regret leaving the walls in that house bare. I wanted to be settled somewhere, but not there, and it took a lot of patience to postpone that settlement until we really knew what was next for us. Those empty walls were a reminder that that we would not be stuck there forever, that something better would come.
We reached DC almost two weeks ago and moved into the house where we lived before. It, too, is a rent house, but there wasn't much debate about where, much less whether, to put things on the walls. They were going up and they were going up pretty much where they were before. For us the adorned walls signify a settled life, a contentment with the decision we've made to follow Harvey's job and move halfway across the country again.
It's a little strange returning to the same house and the same hood. We've been gone for almost a year and a half, and an eventful year and a half for us it was. Yet so far we've seamlessly transitioned back to our former home and life, already reconnecting with neighbors, church, and friends. Other than a few new babies and houses among them, things are carrying on as they did before.
I had a welcome-back dinner with one friend at the same place we had our farewell dinner when I moved. She and I are planning an outing with our kids this week, which was a weekly occurrence before. Another friend came over to catch up, and we're planning to resume our weekly coffee and accountability date soon. I've visited the grocery store, the cleaners, and the library, all with familiar faces.
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| Enjoying our library playground on our first trip back |
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| Always eager to read after a library visit |
And our walls look almost the same as they did before (just a tweak here and there). We don't know how long our pictures will hang on them this time around. We expect and hope it will be longer than last time, but we can't predict what doors will open or what opportunities will come our way or when God will call us to make another crazy move. We'll cover those holes when the time comes, but we're here now, pictures hung up and all, and our house already feels like home again.
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