Chapter 14: Nomadic Adventures

I started at "Birth" as Chapter 1, and worked up from there.  This stage of life falls at number 14.

Nomad:

    1. A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.
    2. A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wander.

I know what you are thinking......  and no, we are not moving to a far off desert to follow the camels as they search for water, or going to live with a herd of sheep to basically become one of them.  However, if you break down the definition of a nomad, we will be doing (our own version of) just that... free roaming herds of animals need not apply.

"1. A member of a group of people who have no fixed home..."

Later this week, if all goes as planned, we will have a "For Sale" sign in front of our (adorable, affordable, amazing, you should buy it) little house.  If you have ever attempted to sell your dwelling, you are well aware of the fact that as soon as you decide to sell, the house is no longer your comfortable, cozy, cluttered little home.  I have done my absolute best to make it seem as though:

-we have children, but they are quiet and boring and don't have more than 7 toys each

-we each only have a total of 10 outfits and 5 pairs of shoes

-we did not receive ANY wedding gifts

-we never use our bathroom or kitchen

and the one that keeps me going

-we don't actually live here, but rather it's like our home, on set of our family sit-com

All that to say, after we sell our house, we will have "no fixed home".  Don't feel sorry for us, that is apparently the goal we have set, so let's all hope and pray that "a safe kind of homeless" will be the end (and temporary) result.

".... and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land."

I am sure that the definition implies that the seasons are that of Winter, Spring and so on.  However, for us this "season" is simply called Fellowship.  There was the Med School season, then the Residency season, now the Fellowship season..... to be followed by (God willing) the Finished season, or as I lovingly call it, the Job.  

So as we follow the season of Fellowship to a far off land called North Carolina, we will be in search of food (our new favorite restaurants), water (will we need to buy a Pur or is the tap water tasty?), and grazing land (this could be filled by any number of things, but for us it means: golf courses, play grounds, endocrinologists, Pharmacy, library, Whole Foods, dog parks, walking routes, pediatricians, red box spots, baby sitters, and anything else implying necessity or recreation).  

All potentially exciting things, as long as true life plays out exactly as the romantic comedy version; complete with a great soundtrack, and kooky (but safe and lovable) neighbors.

"2. A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wanderer."

As we prepare to sell our house, I am spending every ounce of free time trolling every possible real estate website, having anything to do with a home that might be perfect for us, and available for rent beginning June 2012 and ending July 2013.  Which explains my absence from the Open Mic 4 times a week, here at Club Sugar Savvy.

Because we will be renting a house/condo/town home, (and I have rented many times before so I speak from experience) I will not feel that our space is our home.  That small fact eats away at me as I search for the perfect spot:

-3 bedroom, 2 bath, hardwood floors, fenced back yard, similar size to my current house, and a kitchen that is equal to or greater than the one where I spend a large part of my day

All that being said; we might be without a "fixed residence", and we might "roam about", but we will be unfixed and wandering together, with or without a dishwasher.

Thankfully, I know that there are other "nomadic" families in our midst.  As we await a long term dwelling place, we know we are not alone in our temporary displacement, and we look forward to sharing stories of our migrations.