Last month, June 5th, was our one year anniversary of our move to the East Coast. One year ago, last month, we moved to the other side of the US, and planted our feet in a little lake town of Bemus Point, that no one on the West Coast (or any where else for that matter) had ever heard of. It was thrilling, adventurous, and a "grabbing life by the horns" kind of feeling..... as well as super exhausting and emotionally challenging! However, that being said, one year later, on some days it still feels like all of the above but not as tiring and stressful as that was! I don't think anything will ever come close to how much work and how tiresome a cross-country move is with 2 babies in tow. It's crazy that we have officially lived in Bemus now for a whole year, and sometimes it feels like we've lived here much longer than that! Could it be that the 4 seasons make the year feel longer, or that we were so accustomed to spending a few weeks out of the summer in Bemus (for the last 4+ years) that it made it feel like we've lived here part of our lives? Possibly. We don't really question it, though. When you have that comfortable feeling and it all feels easy and natural, that's the way it's supposed to be. Its meant to be. We don't doubt we made the right decision.
As a family of 4, we are spending much more uninterrupted time together, and now that the boys are getting older, we are definitely traveling more and resuming the life we had prior to babies.... the only difference is that we are enjoying that life with our babies! Any time we have a newborn in the house, it slows everyone and everything down, because you just can't live as active of a life when they are so small and vulnerable. As Jax grew into a toddler this past year, a whole crazy and super active world has emerged, and we are ALWAYS doing something, even if that something happens to be right at home. Our boys love to be outdoors, and they love having the space to race, run around, wrestle, and jump on top of each other like wild little monkeys. As I have always said from the moment we shared the news of our East Coast move: Boys need nature, they need space to climb, run, play, build, explore, and get dirty. Boys need their toys.... toys for all seasons, and for all environments. That has proven to be so incredibly correct! The boys love the seasons, and there are so many fun activities and things to do at all times of the year. The boys don't know how lucky they are to have their very own playroom (game room), a garage full of bikes, sleds, and power wheels, their own basket ball hoop over the driveway they will appreciate as they get older, their own boathouse (for their future teen hang outs with their buddies.... their "party house" as Brad refers to it). They are so lucky to live right on a lake, to have their very own rocks to throw in the water, a fire pit for those campfires and bonfires, dock and lake front to swim and mess around on, and especially lucky to have a boat for all the water sports that await them in the years to come. They have numerous trees they will climb, and of those, we are planning to hang swings from, and help them build their own tree fort!
Moving into our dream house and really making it ours (with all the remodeling we have done) this past year has proven to be successful as well! Everything magically came together in perfect timing for us to enjoy it this summer. Now that we have lived here a year, and survived the Winter (which honestly is not as bad as its made out to be), I can't imagine moving again or calling any other place besides Bemus "home". Bemus Point feels like home. Its home to our beautiful big house, our around-the-clock family life, the privacy, and the community that we have grown very close with. There's nothing like living in a small town where smiling, familiar faces greet you all day long, and there's always something to do. We do spend a lot more on groceries and alcohol though, since you have to be ready for company at any moment and we are a family and a home that is constantly entertaining!
Looking back, I think the timing was SO right. Taji still remembers the "old house" and California (through stories and, of course, this blog and photos), and Jax was too little to remember. But we do, and the memories we made as a couple and with the boys in California, we hold dear to our hearts, but life for us really began when we moved to Bemus Point! When we moved, the boys were too young to form any attachments (besides to our family), they were very resilient and adaptable throughout the moving process, life in the cottage, and finally, settling into the "new house", as Taji used to call it. Thank goodness they won't remember how stressed their mommy and daddy were! When we moved to Bemus Point, we automatically turned adventure-full, and this thankfully, has not stopped! When you make all the right steps forward and follow your gut, you have no reason to look back. Yeah, the ratio of amazing restaurants and excellent salons are slim to none. That's the only negative I can come up with so far. LOL. The cold is not that cold, and when it is, you have another excuse to plan a vacation and travel somewhere warm. We knew we were going to enjoy living here, and we do. We knew the boys would love it, but had no idea this much! I knew I was going to transition right in and meet new friends, but I would have never guessed just how many great friendships I have already formed in just ONE year!
I feel like since our move, many other traveling doors opened as well. In this year alone, and also because the boys are older, we traveled double to triple the amount compared to when we lived in California. I think its SO healthy to change up your place of residence, if you are able to. By moving to a different part of the country, it allowed us to see and experience so many other places and things, that we would not have gotten to if we continued living on the West Coast. And the longer we live here, the more we realize how much closer we are to so many destinations. The East Coast has undoubtedly more states and those "bucket list" cities to visit. We are just a short road trip away from another state, a short flight to the Atlantic, South East states, and the Caribbean. We have more options as far as air travel and airports go when traveling internationally to Europe. We are close to the great lakes, the Atlantic, and Canada. And unlike Mexico, it is super safe to drive into Canada and go sight-seeing! In our first Fall, we took a road trip to Philadelphia, in the Winter we checked out our neighboring ski resorts, and took a Caribbean vacation. In the Spring, the boys and I spent a weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. I was lucky enough to go on weekend getaways with my girlfriends to both NYC and Chicago! And now that Summer is here, we are once again venturing out to other parts of the East Coast to see more sights. We have many more road trips planned for this year, as well as our California reunion trip and exotic cultural vacations! We want to do as much traveling as we can with the boys before they start up school, and then, only then, will we slow down just a teeny bit :)
Since we moved to Bemus, Brad works to live for leisure, versus working to live for survival. A major difference. His work hours or days he chooses to go into the office is much more relaxed. He is still our breadwinner though, so he needs to make an appearance at his work and get some things done to pay our bills and our lifestyle! I truly feel grateful that his business allows us to have the free flowing, "do as we please" life we lead these days. Its especially handy for me as a stay-at-home mom, to have a partner who is available to help with the kids, can take time off of work or take days off when need at a moment's notice, and it is very awesome we can spend more time together having fun.
Lastly, and I have saved the most interesting thought for last..... no matter how many places we have traveled, visited, and lived, the more we venture out, the more I realize how unique this little lake town of Bemus Point really is. It's spectacularly indescribable. It doesn't matter how many ways I describe it or try to paint it...... you have to see it and experience it for yourself. It's not Europe, it's not California, it's not like most East Coast cities, it's not a planned community, and it's not farm land. Those that have grown up here, or are from similar-like towns.... get it. Those that are not, just need to come visit, and then they will understand! As in my parents...... they had no idea what to expect and kind of pictured things a certain way, until they came to visit and then they were completely surprised. They liked it, they understand why we love it, and they get it! Yeah! Now, its my sister's turn.... and then we look forward to our friends visiting and enjoying the summer with us!
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