Life for the past 11+ years has been… wild, eventful, non-stop? Certainly the word calm is not the sentiment that comes to mind. We have been moving in every literal cardinal direction, over the river and through the woods anticipating the next move, and the move beyond that. All the while raising babes, staying on top of homework (not an effortless task), sports and shuttling here, there and everywhere as tween kids require. Not to mention squeezing any bits of quality time as a married couple we manage to find. A beautiful whirlwind is one way to sum up the last decade for the Hughes family.

However, recently life has slowed and dare I utter the words, a calmness has ensued. {Let me preface by saying, that life with children will never truly be the calm most people assume} — It’s organized chaos most days, but somewhere in that everyday crazy, life has become ordinary. Ordinary, may seem boring, dull— but for me, it has been necessary to catch our breath and sit comfortably for a moment. Ordinary is a feeling we haven’t experienced in a long time. We’ve been new parents, cross country living, expatriates, world travelers, ever going, honestly, anything but ordinary.

Lately however, we’ve found a place to call home… for now. We’ve been in one address for longer than a year (a rare occurance). All three kids are in one school (second year in a row for 2/3rds of them, a bigger win)– a real school at that! No more half-day preschool where you spend most your day driving to and from than actually getting anything of significance done. It’s an unfamiliar feeling. It’s quiet. Too quiet at points– where the “should be” guilt sets in. You know the should be guilt… “I should be” working. “I should be” cleaning out closets. “I should be” filing my time with more meaningful tasks. “I should be” volunteering at school more. “I should be” working out more. “I should be” doing all the things. But then I take a step back, and remind myself that for the first time in 11 years I have earned this. Whether it be running, reading, writing or finding a new hobby. Time for the house, time for the errands and the tasks that have been shelved since (well, forever). I am lucky to have the opportunity to stay at home with my babes, it’s not lost on me. In fact it’s exactly where I want to be right now. Of course, it’s no cake walk, there are endless duties and unlike other jobs, it has no clock-out button. It begins the moment you wake up, it continues after school and in to the night. The messes keep coming, the dinners need preppin’, the cheering section will always have a seat with my name on it. But after years of hustle, pregnancies, new borns, toddlers, pre-teens, all while life is moving around us with no center of gravity, figuratively and very literally, there is finally… calm. There is time. There is normalcy.

Within that calmness inevitably, there is also the ever present question, whats next? It’s the natural progressions of life— You graduate high school people ask, “what college?” You get engaged, “when’s the wedding?” You get married– “when are babies coming?” You have a baby– “when are you going to have another?” Kids are all in school, “when are you gonna go back to work?” We’re all (myself included) so fixated on the whats next? This time, I don’t have the answer to whats next. We’re not packing or planning our next move. Im not fully invested in having to go back to work by a certain date. For the first time, we get to just be here, home for now. We put photos on the walls, decorated bedrooms, signed up for sports teams. We have a dream neighborhood. We’ve made friends (we hopefully get to keep.) Whether it’s for the long haul or temporary, we are present and thankful for this home. It may sound silly or unremarkable— the one thing we’ve been missing in this wild decade of go, go, goes is, normalcy.

Now, I’m certainly not making promises. I know myself and my family well enough that were never “done.” Never done traveling, moving, experiencing, or saying yes. We will always have a toe out the door, because what if? I will always have pangs of “but our time abroad” and the “remember how great this was” …. but those pangs and aches of missing is what makes this next chapter so exciting. There are always possibilities, there is always prospects that are ripe for the taking when we are ready. Although some of those life experiences were stressful, lonely at times and sometimes downright HARD— those are not the pangs i’m remembering. Im remembering the schools that welcomed us. Im remembering the people who were so warm. Im remembering the spontaneous weekend trips to other countries, trying new foods for the first time, seeing actual text book monuments in real life.

I hope my children remember us saying YES and taking leaps of faith together. I want them to remember that even though life has challenges, nothing is perfect and that taking a chance is worth it because of what you may learn along the way. I want my children to know that we understand things haven’t always been easy for them. They’ve have been put into situations that are constantly new and unknown at times. They’ve had to say goodbye over and over and “not sure when I’ll see you next” more times than we can count. They have been drug on hundreds of grocery trips, errands, stroller runs, meetings, IMMIGRATIONNNNN and countless hangs with adults for dinners and adventures about. I hope they remember the patience and flexibility they learned. The resilience and spontaneity they’ve mastered is invaluable. And not to forget how lucky being close to your siblings really is. I hope they learned that home doesn’t always mean four walls, it’s who you share them with.

And a few other words of wisdom id also like to share…

The world does have so much to offer, even when things feel grim and hard. Some times you need to step outside of whats comfortable. Take risks, even when there is unknown. It may change your life, it may not, but at least you wont ever wonder, what if? Do things that scare you. {I don’t mean skydive or get a motorcycle,} I mean do things that make you nervous. Travel solo (when you’re old enough) take a job you’re not good at. Be willing— wiling to try new foods, willing to learn a language, willing to be challenged. Hell, be willing to camp on a whim and willing to change course. In a world of casualness, don’t be. Manners are and will always be in style. Say thank you, please, and volunteer help whenever you can. Travel is invaluable, it doesn’t have to be world wide, or always EPIC, it can be small, it can be life changing, just do it. It all matters. Spread your wings. Say yes…. And say, no. Find a home and then find it again and again.

Thank you to my family for being my home. My home for now and home for always.