When Dennis and I bought our 1919 Four Square in 2003, we expected we’d retire in this house. We looked at a lot of homes and waited until we found one we really loved before we purchased, figuring we were in it for the long haul.

Things have changed somewhat. Off and on for the last couple of years, we have been remarking, “I wish we lived somewhere else” and “If we ever move” and “Wouldn’t it be nice if” and “If I could start over…”.

The frequency of these statements have increased in the last 6 months or so. And the “if” have been replaced with “when” . The discussion has been amped up since Dennis’ friend, Rob, accepted a job offer in Idaho. We looked at the photos of the area and sighed, then said “Rob sucks!”. It occurred to us that Rob doesn’t suck, we suck. We suck be cause we want to take a leap of faith but won’t lift that first foot off the ground.

We’ve been discussing, in earnest, the logistics of moving out of the area. Not just out of the area but out of the region. Both of us have lived in Northern Ohio a long time. Dennis his whole life (45 years) and me since 1970 (moved back in 1997 after living in the Cleveland area for 11 years, primarily because my mother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease). Neither one of us much like the area and it holds little charm for us. This part of the country offers little opportunity these days too.

The economy has been run into the ground by government interference and ‘living in the past’ political agendas. It’s dying here. We’ve worked since we were teenagers and bettered our position — just like we were taught you are supposed to do. We see more and more of the money we work for being diverted to people who don’t want to make their own way. Rather than taking personal responsibility they are willing to sell their lives to the government who pays for those lives with the earnings of responsible citizens. We see more and more of our money going to bloated social programs and corrupt pork projects. We have less and less money that we have earned to do with as we wish and more politicians that seem to believe that money is theirs and they will allow me to keep a tiny little part of it.

We are dealing with people with attitudes like this:

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Enough already. This is not the life we want to live.

We are looking at change our lives, not just our location.

We are preparing to go through the house, sell some stuff, donate some stuff, throw out some stuff (if you are interested in purchasing quilting fabric or quilting books, let me know — it’s going). We are paring down.

At the same time, we start the hunt for a place we want to living. Probably west – Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, The Dakotas… Someplace where a home sits on more than a suburban lot. Somewhere people are warm and friendly — a community. Someplace that provides contentment and appreciation and maybe a little awe.

Leaping.