I’m Not Moving
by Linda McKenney
Between the ages of eighteen and sixty-six, I moved eleven times.
From childhood home to grandma’s house when I married
To first apartment
To a different apartment
To grandma’s house
To our first home
To an apartment when I got divorced
To the home of my second husband
To a twenty-four-foot recreational vehicle
To an apartment
To a home in Tennessee
Just the thought of this list exhausts me. But not enough to prevent the eleventh move.
From Tennessee to a home in New York State.
We loved living in Tennessee. I remember when we first arrived, knowing no one, I had some trepidation. We’d left a rich life back in New York. Could we recreate it here? I remember thinking, “If I die in Tennessee, will anyone attend my funeral?’
We did make friends. Lots of them. And we acclimated to a somewhat different culture. But there was a huge hole in my life that kept expanding. Every time we visited family back in New York, my heart split open and took weeks to heal.
So despite the almost overwhelming thought of one more move, we went back to New York.
Now every other Friday night, the whole clan comes for dinner. Six children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Each meal includes some kind of meat and potatoes, chicken tenders, pizza, pasta and a vegan dish or two. I spend the whole day cooking, and I love it!
Then we have a wonderful gathering of love and kinship. Someone else cleans up the mess, and I just sit back in my chair and count my blessings. I’m not moving!
AUTHOR’S PHOTO CAPTION: My daughter-in-law helping me pack when we moved into our RV. I don’t want to let go of my granddaughter.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Linda McKenneyis a Personal Life Coach, Motivational Speaker, and Writer, specializing in Mindful Living and Eating. Her creative nonfiction is published in Silver Birch Press, 101 Word Short Stories, The Survivor’s Review, and Helen: A Literary Magazine. She also has an alter ego at Susanbanthony.live.
Excellent piece! I had rarely moved but I knew moving to TN was something I “had” to do. Just got back to TN from “home” just north of Boston. Drove through the old neighborhoods and saw the changes. Learned that that change is good. The places I loved are now loved by others. Today I wore the most beautiful jewelry in the world, the arms of my grandson as we celebrated his 4th birthday around my neck. Home is truly where those you love are!
Thanks Joyce and you enjoy those jewelry arms!