Empty Rooms

Empty Rooms

 

Last month was one for changes.  Last year, my husband and I decided that we were finally ready to leave Arizona. We were ready for a change.  When we first moved there in 2004/2005, I told my husband that I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life in Arizona.   I knew that I wanted to be closer to my parents. Well, life happened, and we ended up staying for 13/14 years.  Don’t get me wrong. We built a life there.  I learned to hike, and changed my love of photography into a business.  I traveled to some beautiful places, and had experiences that I would not trade for any amount of money.  We also experienced some hard times.  I lost my job in January 2007, but landed a wonderful one two months later.  My husband had a stroke, but by the grace of God he recovered.   I lost a good friend, and to this day, I don’t know why.  I often told my husband that I felt as if we were strangers in a strange land.  Arizona was our Babylon, and I was ready to go.  It took the last two years to push me to my breaking point.  

Earlier this year, my husband and I decided that we were moving to Austin, Texas. Our son was living with us, and we told him in 2018 that were moving.  He advised him to get his affairs in order so that he could find himself an apartment.   All of our plans were centered around relocating.  Well, in February of 2019, my husband did receive a job offer in Iowa. Although I wasn’t too keen on the idea of snow, I was looking forward to experiencing a real fall season.  Fall was my favorite season growing up in the Midwest. I was also happy that I would be about a three-hour drive from my parents. We made Austin our Plan B in case Iowa didn’t pan out.  Well, it didn’t, and I was disappointed because I wouldn’t be far from family. So, we switched back to Austin.

These two pictures represent two very different feelings.  The first was taken in our old apartment in Arizona. We had to move to it when we could no longer afford our beautiful home with lots of lot and space.  We lived in a cracker box for two years which wreaked havoc on our family.  There was no lot and no space.  I was stalled creatively, and at one time, didn’t use my camera for a three-month period.

The second image is of our new home in Austin. There’s beautiful light, and enough space for two people.  I finally have an office again instead of a desk in our bedroom looking out of a small window.  I can see beautiful trees, and watch the rain fall.  I feel at ease, and hopeful for what God has in store for us.  I do miss my children terribly.  I have never lived apart from my son, and it’s doing a number on the both of us.  I pray for all of my children at least once a day.  I know that God has them, and will always be there for them.