Fall mornings just hit differently in Maine . The trees are just starting to change colors which is physical proof that we have closed the door on Summer. This season reminds me that we all need to periodically shed things that don’t serve us and that change is imminent. I don’t currently have anything to shed, however change has been a massive constant in my life the last six months. I feel like a bare tree that hasn’t had regrowth in many seasons. Battling feelings of regret, hopelessness, and truly just grieving all we left behind and all that hasn’t come to be yet here in Maine. I’m hoping that soon enough leaves will grow in the shapes of a new job, a new house, a new community. But waiting is hard, especially when you get close and it doesn’t end up working out time after time again. Days like today where you get unfavorable news multiple times (another job rejection when you’re more than qualified, real estate woes, etc.) and also realized you missed a whole summer of spending time with your parents in their back yard… it brings up doubt and makes me want to crawl back to what used to be. It makes me feel like I’ll be stuck like this forever but because change is imminent, things have to settle eventually. I’m impatient but most days I’m hopeful.

Alrighty, here we are. Back again to recap our great cross-country move from Washington State to Maine. Before we dive in, you may be asking yourself “Why would someone move from coast to coast, and MAINE of all places?!” This is a great question, and I was surrounded by people who asked it. The short answer is family – we moved back to the state that my husband grew up in. Long answer – After we had our kiddo, my in-laws decided to move to WA to be closer to us (er, our daughter, mostly). We thought that would be the end of the moves for at least a long time, but we were surprised to learn that my parents would be moving to Montana upon retiring. Soon after, we learned that my in-laws were considering moving back to Maine. This threw our entire lives into a limbo we never expected! We had three choices: Stay in WA (without our daughter being close to grandparents but having her uncle and aunties), move to Montana (and only know my parents), or move to Maine (be around all of my husband’s immediate and extended family). After a lot of deliberating, we decided to move to Maine thinking it would be the best choice for our family.

Moving to a new state can be both thrilling and challenging, especially when you’re covering a vast distance like from Washington State to Maine. Our family embarked on this epic journey in our “land yacht” we named Ladybug (giant, red Chevy Silverado), a 50-hour drive across the country, accompanied by a 26-foot U-Haul truck driven by my in-laws. Along the way, we encountered some unexpected obstacles, including a scary storm in Wyoming and a last-minute decision to push through over 20 hours of driving.

Day 1: The Start of the Journey

With a mix of excitement, anxiety, and utter grief, we left our home in Washington State, loaded up our big red truck and U-Haul with all our possessions, and began the long trek eastward toward our new life in Maine. The first day was filled with anticipation as we drove through the picturesque landscapes of Washington, making brief stops to stretch our legs. The first day was really tough, full of immense sadness for what we were leaving behind and lots of hope for what we were driving towards. Since we left later in the afternoon than intended, we landed in Idaho for the evening.

Day 2: Battling the Elements

We drove through Idaho and Montana for most of the day and as we crossed into Wyoming, we encountered an unexpected challenge – a severe storm. The pouring rain, howling winds, and lightening ahead of us had us on edge. It was dark out and we couldn’t help but worry about the possibility of a tornado touching down. In fact, earlier in the day, someone at a gas station told us about the tornado warnings in the direction we were headed. We found the closest place to stay for the night and were happy to finally not be driving. It turns out that driving can be exhausting!

Day 3: Miles and Memories

By the morning of the third day, the storm had subsided enough to not be so worrisome. We took off and headed east again, driving further through the midwest. The scenery was beautiful but I have to admit… there really isn’t a lot to look at after so many hours in the car and seeing a lot of the same scenery. We were lucky to have our extra tablet that our daughter could watch movies on – This was a life saver for us. It carried us throughout the whole trip.

Day 4: A Desperate Decision

Approaching the halfway point of our journey, we faced a dilemma: we couldn’t find anywhere to stay for the night. All the hotels along our route were fully booked, leaving us with a difficult choice. We decided to push through, driving for more than 20 hours straight. This last stretch was grueling, but we were determined to make it to our destination as quickly as possible.

Day 5: The Final Push

As we entered the last leg of our journey, fatigue set in, and the eagerness of finally making it to Maine served as our primary motivation. The landscape changed as we ventured further east, with lush forests and rolling hills replacing the vast plains of the Midwest. The sight of welcoming highway signs for Maine provided a much-needed morale boost.

Arrival in Maine: Relief and Renewal

Finally, after five days on the road and 50 hours of driving, we crossed over into Maine, welcomed by the “Welcome Home” sign. The exhaustion and stress of the journey made us so relieved to finally be at our destination. Unpacking the trucks and settling into my in-law’s house was surreal. It was an “oh shit” moment of us thinking “Did we really do this?!” oh yes, yes we did.

Since we arrived at the end of June, we have been doing as much as we can to acclimate our daughter and ourselves to this new life. We are temporarily staying with my in-laws while we sell our home in WA and look for one here. We were lucky enough to get our daughter into a summer camp so that took up a lot of her summer time. It’s been three months and we are finally no longer homeowners in WA and are pending on a home in Maine. Big moves are coming (again!)! It’s exciting and scary to think about all the changes we made in a short period of time. Even typing all of this out brings up raw emotions and some panicky feelings. But I know as time goes on, the rawness will fade and my heart will mend. And while this all has been very hard on me, it’s been just as hard (or harder) on my mini me, my sweet girl. She misses her friends, my family, and the familiarity of home. Just like her mama. So we frequently check in with each other and give each other space to cry and talk about home.

So if you made it through this journey of a blog post, thank you! It’s mostly me just recapping this for myself and my daughter. It’s a great reminder for me that we can do hard things… and we did just that!

It’s been a while since I have visited my blog! I figured I would provide some background into ✨me✨ and where I am at these days. I hope to write more in the coming months as I would love to journal about all the changes in my life. From Washington state to Maine, we have made big moves! More to come on that piece later 😊

So who am I?? I am Kymmie and I was born and raised in Washington state. I grew up visiting the beautiful West Coast beaches and to this day, the Oregon Coast remains a place of comfort and peace. My personal mission is to live a life filled with joy and intention, where I strive to be the best version of myself and make a positive impact on the world. I am passionate about helping people and aim to create meaningful connections with others. I enjoy finding ways to be creative (writing, art, podcasting, etc.), paddle boarding, four wheeling, listening to music, laughing, singing, dancing poorly, and spending time with my little family of three.

My husband and I met when I was eighteen years old and we married two years later. Marrying young was challenging, to say the least. Loving him and making the decision to spend the rest of my life with him was easy. Our first big test in our relationship came when he deployed with the US Navy three months after our marriage. Not only were we starting to figure out married life, we had to figure out how to be together, apart. Opposite schedules made it difficult to communicate but we talked often and remained close with each other. In fact, I consider the deployment a big factor into why our marriage has been so successful. We learned valuable communication skills that have carried us throughout our relationship.

Seven years into our marriage, we had our daughter. Parenting has been the greatest joy and challenge of my life. There’s something about parenting that can show you your flaws and reignite trauma from childhood, while also driving you to be the best version of yourself for the sake of your child. We all do the best we can with the tools we have available at the time, and I like to think that I have acquired many tools in my adult life that have enabled me to be a pretty great mom. Of course, not without the support of my husband. I have done a lot of self-work over the years from reading to meditation to therapy and have identified myself as a Highly Sensitive Person. This self-realization helped me to see this in our daughter as well. It can be challenging at times but there is a lot of beauty in it, too. We are empathetic people with strong emotional connections to our feelings and the feelings of others.

My family and I recently moved to Maine from Washington state to be closer to my husband’s family. When making the tough decision to move away from everything my daughter and I have ever known, I found solace in being on another coast where I would have the opportunity to explore new areas that provide some familiarity of home; crashing waves, salty air, a nearly constant breeze. Things look different in Maine, but I am finding beauty in our new normal.