Moving...

I've been thinking about all of the places that our family has lived and the lesson that we've learned along the way.  Moving around was not an thing that I grew up with.  I didn't grow up in a military family, although for a while there, my family moved about every five years.  I was the youngest so I only remember the last move.

One of my most vivid memories was when our family moved from Albuquerque, NM to Santa Maria CA.  I was 10 years old and had a best friend named Linda.  We were always together, mostly at her house because she had a pool and TONS of Barbies with ALL of the accessories.  In fact, the garage of their house was her playroom and it was filled with everything you can imagine.  A Barbie wonderland, if you will.  I never had an actual Barbie so I made good use of hers.  I guess that's what happens when you have 2 kids vs. 5 kids + foster kids.  We had 3 foster kids (Navajo Indians) at different times over the years.  I still don't know how my parents did it!

The day that our family drove out of town is etched into my brain because I was so sad that day.  I was determined to never loose contact with Linda, but that was my way of hanging on to the past with a death grip.  We wrote a few letters back and forth, called a few times and she even came to visit me once when she was in California with her dad, going to Disneyland and other theme parks.  Then, life got in the way.  We both moved on.  The pain that I thought would never go away, wasn't there anymore.

I lived in the same home from that time until I got married and moved into Dave's apartment.  Roughly 12 years.  Since then, we have almost perfected the art of moving.  I'm not kidding!  I'm sure that more than a few friends and family have wondered if we had lost our minds and there were times when I would have agreed with them.  When I think of what everyone's address book looks like under "The Petersen's", I almost feel bad.  There have got to be more scribbles than I can imagine. 

I'll give a "Readers Digest" version of our travels:

Santa Maria/Lompoc, California where we met and married and quickly figured out that we couldn't afford to buy a home in Cali plus Dave was ready to break out of the Policeman portion of his life.

Pocatello ID, (time: 13months) where Sarah was born and Dave was a welfare fraud investigator. Yes, there are people out there that abuse the system, for years.  If you only knew how rampant it is, you would scream!  Going on welfare was not an option for us (Dave would rather work 5 jobs) but this solidified it in our minds.  It is scary how many people don't know or don't care where that money comes from.  It's not free money!!  The tax payers carry that weight.  Okay, I'll get off my soap box now...

Salt Lake City UT (time: 1 year) where Amanda was born and Dave started his career in the Fire Service as an arson investigator. 

Riverton UT, (time: 2 years) where Jeffrey was born and we bought our first home.  This is where Dave started attending the National Fire Academy in Maryland and dove into the Fire Service, taking every class possible. And I had my hands full with everything baby.

Eugene OR (time: 10 months) where most of the worlds hippies are born and live, I'm sure of it. Their motto: peace, love, never bathe, rarely comb your hair and for heavens sake, don't cave to what society thinks is "normal"!  They all come out of the forest with their hand made "treasures" for sale at Saturday Market.  Wow, talk about sights and smells!  It rained the ENTIRE time we lived there and I was never able to get my barrings straight.  I was in a constant state of... LOST!  I'm pretty sure that there is a vortex or something over that town.

Valencia CA, (time: 2 years) We were so happy to be back were the sun actually shines!  This is where Becca was born and where Dave worked in West Hollywood and figured out that commuting in California stinks! Two hours to go 40 miles!!  Some things are just NOT worth the price.  House #2 we bought and sold was the most expensive home to date.  Aww, California prices!

Ashland OR, (time: 22 months) where the hippies come for the 4th of July parade to protest the "machines of war" (the military jet fly over).  And to share their "wisdom" about how we should all be limited to 1 child because we are ruining Mother Earth.  I'm serious folks.  I saw it with my own eyes!  This is also where we met some of our lifelong friends, The Skillmans!  They are NOT hippies!  In fact they are often hippy antagonists just by proudly driving their Diesel EXCURSION around town!!  Oh, the shame!
The Skillman's liked us so much that they sold us their home (house #3).  Or should I say Mark sold us their home while Stacy was out of town.  Thanks guys!  THIS is why we are friends.  They don't love anything that doesn't love them back (like houses, desks, book cases etc)...but they love us back!

Las Vegas (time: 2 years)  where Dave worked in a super secret/black ops program at the Test Site near Area 51 (if there really IS an Area 51)  If he talks about it with you, he has to kill you, haha. He worked there until the funding ran out...ironically, just before 911 happened.  Then the money started pouring in but we were already gone. 

Salem OR- (time: 6 months) THIRD TIME WAS NOT THE CHARM!  Where we lived in a two bedroom apartment, while trying to sell our home in Vegas, with a heavy smoker below us. Fortunately, Oregon has great parks,museums and libraries which is where we spent most of our time.  Ironically, Oregon spends millions on libraries and gives Police and Fire the crumbs.  Gotta love Oregon! 

Las Vegas (time: 2 years) Dave learned just how corrupt unions are.  The mafia has nothing on them.  A wise Fire Chief once compared them like this, they are like crabs in a bucket.  If one tries to "escape" by doing something better with his life or heaven forbid, going above and beyond his duties without pay, the others pull him back in.  

Mesquite NV (time: 7 years, a huge record for us!) House #6,  where our kids grew up in that small town atmosphere and where we all leaned many lessons.  Our entire family took the biggest leap of faith we have ever had to take.  Sarah, by marrying a perfectly wonderful stranger and the rest of us by listening to the prompting of Heavenly Father and moving , all in the same weekend.  This is where handfuls of people worked there way into our hearts and will forever be kept there.

Spanish Fork UT (time: 1 year) where our kids continue to grow up in that small town atmosphere, only with more opportunities available to them.  Where we are learning what it means to be good Cougar fans and learn how to navigate without one of our "crew members" living among us.  On the bright side, she added a pretty cool crew member to our crazy bunch.

Who knows how long we will be here.  I think it'll be a long one because I'm tired of moving and Dave's tired of climbing the career ladder (thank goodness) but I wouldn't trade our adventures for anything.  We grew as a family because we HAD to rely on each other.  Our kids became each others best friends which was nice because they didn't have the trauma that I endured when I was 10.

We met some amazing people along the way, saw some beautiful country and experienced some really cool stuff.  We have learned to dive into life where ever we are and to make the best of things.  There's a whole world out there to learn about, but everyone has to find their own path, learn their own lessons and do it their own way.

But the best part is, is that we realized that as long as we were together, we would be okay.  Now, that definition has changed a little, in that, we know that we don't have to always be physically together to be okay.  As long as we took the time to build our relationships early on, that bond will stretch for thousands of miles and even over water, if it needs to.