Go to Maine - Now.

On the way back from Maine I asked my husband if we could consider changing our life plan.  "Would you be open to moving to Maine?"  I said it in all honesty (albeit I didn't think it through).  The answer wasn't what I wanted to hear, but below you'll see why I asked.

If you read my previous post you know my family and I embarked on a journey to northern Maine.  I make the distinction because we went so far in Maine that I was shown the Canada border.  The reason I plugged out (for the most part) for a week was because there wasn't much service to get anyways.

Jerry's grandfather (Pepere) has a house on a lake there.  To say it's beautiful is an understatement.  The air smells different, the trees double ours in size and quantity and it is a normal activity to look for moose, deer and bears. Television, organized kid activities and parks are not really the recreational choices up there.  Seemed to me that swimming, boating, fishing, quading and hiking were the things to do (only things to do?).

So, right these are not my normal "fun" activities, but I tried it all.  When you don't have distractions or other options, you can see just how perfect these things are (for hesitant adults like me and for my kids).

No, I didn't plan to have EITHER of my kids on an ATV, but it happened (everyday, all the time, more, More, MORRREEEE).

Did I plan on going off-roading in my soccer mom vehicle (at night, looking for moose)?  No (HELL NO).  Did I do it?  Yes and I am glad I did.

I really wanted to go on this trip, but really it meant so much to Jerry.  His Pepere is almost 90 and it's clear even to people like me that this house is really where his heart is.  To be able to share it with our

children while he is still here and thriving meant the world (to Jerry, to me and I know to others).

Having two 12 year olds around to constantly keep my kids busy, loved and happy wasn't half bad either.  I have heard the term "mother's helpers" before, but never have it seen it to this magnitude.

Time slips away from you in Maine.  This is partly because you don't have your cell on you like you do here, but it's also because the lifestyle itself is different.  Here in CT, my kids go to bed by 8, every night no matter what.  In Maine?  My kids went to be by 10, every night no matter what.  Some nights were at a campfire, others we were off-roading, still others we were at the one local restaurant dancing to Shania Twain.

Things happen and I let it.  Maine got me out of my comfort zone every day and I am so thankful for it.

There are a lot of similarities between CT and Maine and I don't think it's perfect, but one thing I picked up on was that there was a lack of competition.  It didn't seem like people were trying to outdo one another.  Simple isn't the best way to put it, but that's what it is.  It's a slower pace, less hustle, less bustle, more nature, more time, more peace.

So Jerry said no.  The main reason was because our family is here, we don't know how to live without our family close  (SO TRUE).

So instead it's "project create this lifestyle for my kids by staying much closer to home".

Go to Maine - Now.  Take my family and I with you.