The Move

The last time I posted I talked about the background and process in deciding to move to Chicago. I am now writing this sitting in our new house in Chicago. We have lived here now for not quite two weeks. I just started week #2 at my new job.

And it is just beginning to not seem like a dream.

Two weeks ago today, I was in PA. We were just starting the process of getting our house packed into a 26' box truck. From the beginning, it was clear that the road (both figuratively and literally) would not be easy.

Riley picked up a nasty cough that progressively got worse. We took him to the doctor the Saturday before we left when he said his ear hurt (ear infection). It turned out to be a chest infection that was contageous. Naturally, a few days later, Missy, seven months pregnant and fighting in the trenches of parenting a sick child - laying with him at night, wiping running noses, getting face fulls of coughs - picked up the illness in the form a sinus infection. She went to the doctor the day before we left.

Mother Nature also decided to make our path a little tougher. The day before we left, it rained. All day. And blew. All day. Also, yet another PA snow storm was brewing. It didn't look to affect those of us driving out. However, Missy, Riley and my mom were going to fly out on Thursday and that seemed to be in jeopardy. When we woke up early (like every morning before that) on Wednesday, the weatherman predicted enough doom and gloom that we changed their flights to Wednesday. The Delps were now all leaving PA on Wednesday.

The caravan, my dad, my dad in law, my brother in law (who graciously both flew in and both had flights cancelled coming in) and myself left Pennsylvania for Illinois on Wednesday, February 24th. The trip through Pennsyvlania mountains with a loaded truck was slow moving. What would normally take five hours, took seven. However, once we hit the Midwest and flatter roads, we were able to make up some time. That is, until the snow hit. Four different times we drove though white out snow conditions though miraculously none of snow stuck. That is, until we hit western Indiana. Then the snow fell and stuck significantly. To say the last two and a half hours were stressful would be a gross understatement. As we weaved our way through construction and traffic entering Chicago, we drove on packed down snow, witnessed a truck spin out and smack into a wall and prayed that our trip would end soon.

And finally it did. Fourteen and a half hours after it started. And there, waiting for us, just as they been there when we left, were Missy, Riley and my mom. Along with them were my sister in law, Katy would had graciously gotten some food and drinks for the weary travelers.

The next several days were a whirlwind of unloading, unpacking and organizing. Not to mention emotions. Sunday, we very sadly and painfully said goodbye to my parents. Goodbyes are never clean and easy. Especially with those you love the most. We drove away from O'Hare airport towards our new home and our new life. And I confess I was, for the first time, starting to feel a little scared.

Going to work the next day was like the first day of school times a billion. I put on a tie for the first time in a year. I walked into my new job having very little idea of what to expect. As it turned out, what I did expect actually had changed.

So here I was. In a new town. In a new state. In a new job. With a new child coming in seven weeks. When we do change and transition, we don't do one at a time. We do it all simultaneously.

Several times last week, I found myself driving to work listening to the local talk radio station or walking into our new house and thinking, where the heck are we? Is this even real?

The fact is, it is real. We are now living in Illinois. We have, by choice, created probably the biggest challenge of our lives. And it is unbelievably scary. And uncomfortable. And unfamiliar. In a place where everyone around us is comfortable.

However, it is clear that this is where God wanted us. And it is clear that God did not call us to a life of comfort and ease. Though our human desire is to feel safe, secure and comfortable, the fact is we rarely, if ever, grow in those situations. We grow when we face challenges.

So in a strange way, I am excited to see what lies in store for the Delp family. We have (let me list the phrases I have heard that describe our situation) wiped the slate clean, started over, are flying by the seat of our pants, will sink or swim (and my favorite) are like the explorer Cortes who burned his boats when he reached Mexico. There is some truth in each those (though some are more dramatic than others). But God will provide. We have a tremendous support system both locally and across state lines. We have felt tremendous love through this process. Now we have to simply take it one day at a time.

And it can start by someone telling me how to get to the grocery store.