It’s been said a thousand times, but it’s so true – it goes so fast. As my son turns one, I’m flooded with emotions – the weeks leading up to his birth and how I was feeling at this time last year, the anxiety, the excitement, and the sheer terror of the unknown. With that, I reflect on what has changed, what hasn’t changed, and just the general shift in priorities that ultimately helped determine our decision to move a few months ago.
After he was born, I was amazed by how quickly he was blowing through the newborn clothes, and soon the 0-3 months, then the 3 months, 3-6 months… you get the picture. I had totes of clothes, some only worn once, others washed but never worn, that he’ll never wear again because, hey, they grow so fast.
When my husband and I moved down to South Carolina, we settled down in Eutawville, South Carolina. We wanted space – a quiet setting where we could raise our chickens, build up some seriously impressive (if I do say so myself :)) raised garden beds, a compost pile – we were living the homesteading dream!! Honestly, kids weren’t the priority in our decision making when it came down to a particular location in the lowcountry.
Fast forward to my son’s arrival and being home while on maternity leave, hundreds of miles away from most of my friends and family, and it taking 45 minutes ONE WAY to get pretty much anywhere, I found myself feeling like a prisoner in my own home. The hot heat (and MOSQUITOES) of August and September made it a challenge to be outside after 8 am in the morning and before 7 pm in the evening, so afternoon strolls with the little man to kill some time wasn’t always an option. How is it possible that our perfect homestead was not so perfect?
Priorities.
They change. And holy hell did they ever once our son was born. Our son was six months old when we put our house on the market. It was tough. We had been in our house only two years and it was humbling to come to terms with the fact that maybe the right choice two years ago, was no longer the right choice for our growing family. We had an offer in less than two weeks and before we knew it, we were jammed into a small apartment in Summerville until we figured out where we wanted to be longer term.
Our priorities shifted from quiet, open spaces to being in a neighborhood with better school districts, young children, and the creature comforts of having grocery stores and big box stores less than five miles away.
I anticipated that the first year would go fast, but I didn’t anticipate how much it would truly change our world – and for the better.
We’ve decided to settle into Summerville, and we are so excited to start our next adventure with our crazy little one year old. Eutawville will always have a special place in my heart – it was our first home in South Carolina – but the first year of motherhood made me realize how quickly things can change. At the end of the day, it’s okay if your plans change, if your expectations aren’t what they once were. Don’t feel like you can’t or you shouldn’t change your situation to make it better for your family. It’s not easy, but it was it a lot easier to move 30 miles than the 700 mile journey we took just a little over three years ago!
[…] creative people are–I just think that like everything else new moms face, it’s about prioritizing. My generation especially seems so belabored by the need to make everything picture perfect all the […]
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