I hope you’re well and that the new year has been good to you so far. I haven’t been in touch for awhile as I chose to take some down time in January to relax and reflect. However, it was not the complete escape I was hoping for as there is always so much happening. So I extended my retreat into February and, lo and behold, another month has already passed.

You may recall that last year was a significant year of transition for me. To recap, my youngest son graduated from college, my husband retired, we sold our home, and moved from Chicago to Greenville, South Carolina. And here we are, six months in and still living in an apartment while the bulk of our belongings are in storage. So why haven’t we found our new home? Great question!

First, I think my husband and I both needed to exhale after such a significant transition. Having owned three different homes in the past 30 years, it feels kind of nice to not have that responsibility.

And we have loved living in a small city (with a big city vibe). Just steps from our door we can find delicious food, theatre, music, and shopping. There’s also a gorgeous waterfall in the center of town and a bike path that winds through nature. Hiking in the mountains is just a short car drive away.

But I think consciously, or subconsciously, there’s another force at play. I just don’t think I am ready to commit to buying a home so far away from where my boys live. So why did we move in the first place?

Well…about a year ago our oldest son moved to California and our youngest was planning to apply to medical schools all over the country. So realizing there was no reason to stay in Chicago and wait for them to visit us, we expanded our horizons.

After much searching, we were guided back to the Carolinas where we had lived when our children were young. We had always loved the mountains, so we set out to find our new home close to the vortex near Asheville, North Carolina. But when we stumbled upon nearby Greenville, South Carolina, we felt like we’d found a little slice of heaven.

Fast forward, here we are in our small apartment in Greenville, loving the mild climate and the beauty of the mountains, the happy and friendly people, and the aforementioned abundance of things to do.

But here’s the thing. After we had already made the move, my oldest son decided to move back to Chicago to attend grad school. And my youngest son is now considering medical school in the Midwest. Hello? Could you not have made these decisions before we packed up the truck and moved our belongings south?

I know you parents of older children are laughing and saying, “Never plan your life around your children because the likelihood of them staying put is slim to none.” I know of more than one instance of a couple buying a home where their children lived only to have the children move soon thereafter.

But there’s another piece to this puzzle that invites reflection. I didn’t choose to leave Chicago just because my children were no longer there. I chose to leave because the energy of life had grown stagnant.

Once the boys moved away our home just wasn’t the same. It was too quiet. Too many empty rooms filled with memories. I felt like even the house wanted us to leave so a new family with little children could move in.

The neighborhood that was perfect for raising children where they could safely play outside and walk or ride bikes to school and the parks, made me miss them even more. I would pass the soccer fields where my boys played or hear the high school band that my son participated in practicing, and I’d get a knot in my stomach wondering how it all went by so fast.

I just felt like if I stayed there a part of me would die.

The nice, neat package of a life I had created felt comfortable but too confining now. I needed to step into a new chapter where I could be fully alive once again.

Even though this new path was filled with uncertainty, I felt my Soul calling me to expand and take a leap of faith. So, I leapt!

Here’s the thing…I still miss my boys A LOT! I miss not just them, but the life we shared as a family unit for so many years. And despite the advice of other parents, I do plan to move to wherever they land once they’re married and have children.

This leap has invited me to process through a deep level of grief with the possibility of arriving at a greater understanding of my relationship with my boys and my role as “mom” now that they’re grown.

But the leap has also resulted in a huge burst of new, live-giving energy. I literally feel a higher frequency here. I’m not sure if it’s the close proximity to the vortex or just a more positive approach to life in this area. Whatever it is, I don’t want to leave it!

I’m curious to discover what adventures my Soul wants to take…

* Who am I now when the roles I’ve played are shifting?

* What spiritual depths and heights are waiting to be explored?

* What is my Sacred Mission for this chapter of my life?

* What is the Universe asking of me?

* What do I most deeply desire?

And the all-important question, when will I get to move my things out of storage and into my new home?

At this time on the planet, when there is so much suffering, chaos, and uncertainty, we’re all being invited to ask the bigger questions and play our part in finding the answers.

Don’t be afraid of the darkness – the void. It’s not a tomb. It’s a womb where a new creation is being birthed!

Be bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-dacious!

P.S. There’s so much Co-Creation happening. I can’t wait to share more with you soon.