Colorado to Colombia

by Tabitha Yeasley

...and all the changes in between.

October 19, 2017

I first fell in love with Oregon because it gave me my first taste of autumn. Changing colors and rainy weather meant a vibrant new season, something I didn't get growing up in the San Joaquin Valley. I remember riding along the bike trail amidst the falling, colorful leaves and smiling through the warm layers I'd never needed before, watching the leaves hit the river one at a time. Fall always seems to be the time for change. Now that I'm older it means more than the shift in weather or the end of long summer days. It seems to always give way to a new chapter in life. And this autumn is no different. 

This time, we're packing things up, moving away from what we've always known. For me, Oregon has been home for 9 years. For Michael, it's been home his whole life. I quit my job, again, and we're heading off to new adventures, again. This time though, it starts with a move to a new city in a new state. And it's like Michael said; we'll have two homes now, instead of one. Because no matter where we go, Oregon will always be home, too.

On Sunday, we load up a UHaul and drive across a few states to Colorado. We'll stay for a few days before we fly off for more international travel. We'll take an opportunity like this when we can, and this time, we're headed South. Colombia is calling, and we'll finish out the season highly caffeinated in the capital of coffee and Salsa dancing.

My grandmother recently passed away, and I remember her telling me years ago, "Life tells you: process this, or else! And you either die trying or you change." Change has always been difficult for me, but it's also a strange sort of familiarity at the same time. I am no stranger to it, and I’ve learned that resistance is futile. And I find that it's essential; it's how you grow. But they don't call it growing pains for nothing. It seems like everything about the last couple of weeks is making me nostalgic. The Portland skyline, the Pacific Northwest hikes, the bar across the street (our Cheers), family, and the friends we’ve made over the last couple of years.  But change is more than how you avoid becoming complacent. It's how you become the best version of who you are. 

The places we’ve been and the people we’ve known will always be a part of us. They’ve shaped us, and they’ve sent us off into the world with love and light. And so you move on, but you carry the things and the people that matter with you.

And we are lucky that together, we'll fall in love with a new city, a new state, a new country, and embrace all the changes in between. Next year we'll start working with awesome new companies. We'll make new friends, together. And we'll settle into a new home, together. And I guess that together is the key to really being home - no matter where we are, we're already there.