Welcome back! It looks like the first part of our family’s history kept your interest enough for part two. I am flattered! I recommend starting at part one (Show Me the Bluegrass) to learn how we became a long distance family (LDF). You’ll also learn how we ended up moving from Missouri to Kentucky to Colorado. And what Texas and Washington, DC have to do with all of this!
Our History: Part 2
Kentucky to Colorado
In the previous post, the boys and I were living in Kentucky while my husband, Dennis, was working on a project in Colorado.
Things were going great in Kentucky. We had mostly fixed up our house, cleared a trail to the top of the hill in our backyard, and the vegetable garden was thriving. The kids were flourishing at school, with karate and in their social lives. However, for Dennis, things were changing at work and not in his favor. But because he’d already shown that he was willing to travel for work, he was recommended for a “short-term” six month project in Colorado.
For this opportunity, the company paid for an Colorado apartment and to fly him home once a month. Back home in Kentucky, I became an expert tractor driver in order to keep up with the yard. There was still some painting to be done inside the house, so I also became an expert painter, and I kinda fell in love with it! We talked to Dennis a few times throughout each day, and Skyped every night.
Kentucky
When winter came, I got a crash course in using the tractor’s front-loader and box blade to clear our mile-long driveway. Yep, that's me on the Kubota! Combine that with learning how to make my own soap from scratch (one of the many homesteading-type classes available in our little hippie town), and I’d become a regular pioneer woman!
The boys and I visited Dennis in Colorado over Christmas break and holy cow, we fell in love. Until this point, we’d only lived in the Midwest. The Rocky Mountains were breathtaking. Both figuratively and literally, as the high altitude was not something we were remotely accustomed to. We loved the arid climate, the sunshine, and the people! Everyone was so friendly.
We enjoyed a wonderful week with Dennis, and headed back to Kentucky. A few months later, his “six month” project (by this time, it had been almost a year) turned into an offer for a full-time position. He was thrilled, because, not only had he been enjoying Colorado, he was very happy working there. We talked it over with the boys, and as long as we were bringing our rescue pup, Georgie, they were on-board! I’m still not sure why they thought we’d leave Georgie in Kentucky, but they were ecstatic when we assured them that he’s now part of our family, and would be with us no matter where we go.
At this point, the boys were very close to earning their first degree black belts in Shotokan karate. We made sure they’d be able to test for these before we left.
Househunting
I left the boys and Georgie with family in St. Louis and flew to Colorado to house-hunt. After looking at about 15 houses in many different locations, we finally found the perfect match. We were returning to suburbia, and the best part was that this house didn’t need any work! I wasn’t ready to take on another fixer-upper so soon after the Kentucky house.
The realtor took over, I picked up the boys in St. Louis, and we headed back to Kentucky to put our house on the market. Leaving that house also meant selling Dennis’s beloved tractor. He didn’t get to use it very much that last year, but he still hated to part with it. He thought of all kinds of reasons it needed to move to Colorado with us, but the reality was that even if the homeowner’s association allowed tractors, our new, much smaller suburban yard wouldn’t require it.
Dennis took care of purchasing the new Colorado home, and I handled listing the Kentucky home. Once we closed on the house in Colorado, we could move in, even if the Kentucky house hadn’t sold. One of the great things about this day and age is that, once we sold the Kentucky house, we didn’t need to be at the closing in person. It could all be done online!
Transitioning from Kentucky to Colorado
In July 2015, we listed the Kentucky house on the market. With their new karate black belts in hand, we said goodbye to our friends and watched the moving truck pull away with all of our belongings. Then the boys, Georgie and I headed west in the Prius! Because Ben’s birthday is also in July, we stopped in St. Louis for a “Ben is Ten” celebration with our Missouri friends and family.
Colorado
Then we were back on the road to colorful Colorado, where we would meet Dennis at our new home!
The boys loved the new house. They immediately picked out their rooms (which were still empty since the movers hadn’t made it yet), and we drove around town to familiarize ourselves with the area. The schools in our Colorado district start in early August, so, by the time we made it to our new home, they basically had three days before they started their new schools. They wouldn’t even be attending the same school; Ben was in the local elementary school and Jack was in a separate middle school.
This lack of time to prepare for the first day had its ups and downs: Less time to stress over starting a whole new school in a new state by ripping the bandage right off, but no time to get to know anyone or to enjoy our new surroundings before school starts.
However, we quickly realized the reason that school started back so early: They get so many days off throughout the year! Two week fall break in October, one week for Thanksgiving, two weeks again at Christmas, two week spring break. We had PLENTY of time to explore. And we took advantage of it! We hiked, we went for drives in the mountains, we tried snow tubing and snowboarding. We had frequent visitors from friends and family. The boys returned to taekwondo with a former Olympian as their coach.
Taekwondo and School
The best part was that we were all back under one roof. We also continued to travel. Our oldest son, Jack, joined the competition demonstration team at taekwondo, so we traveled for his competitions as well.
Once we were all settled into our new home state, Dennis decided to return to school. He didn’t finish college the first time around, and had been wanting to go back to earn a bachelor’s degree. Not only would it help open doors at work, it has nagged him for years. He always loved school and was extremely disappointed that he didn’t finish. He enjoyed coding and excelled in math, so he considered some kind of computer science degree. But then he kept seeing data analytics pop up on lists of degrees for top paying careers. The more he looked into it, it seemed like a great fit for him.
He started Webster University’s online bachelor’s degree program in 2016. It took some crazy hard work and dedication, but with the credits that transferred, he finally had his degree in a year and a half.
Looking back, it seems like the minute he finished, another project came up at work: A new team working on data analysis for the company.
Texas
It was a six month project in Houston. The company offered to pay for an apartment there, as well as a trip home each month. He couldn't pass it up! We weren’t sure what would happen after the project was over, but we were hoping it would turn into something full-time where he would get to work from home since he's able to work at a PC versus on a construction site.
He loved the work, and even got to take some pretty awesome trips to Google, Pixar, and Stanford University. We actually met him in San Francisco a couple of times so that Jack could work out with Stanford’s taekwondo coaches, because Stanford has been his dream school for as long as we can remember.
Unlike the project that brought us from Kentucky to Colorado, the Houston project was over in six months. The project was successful, and Dennis was offered a permanent position with the team.
Washington, DC
This was the job that brought us where we are today in our LDF journey: Dennis is in an apartment in the Washington DC area, while the boys and I are in our home in Colorado. It was a tough decision to make, but Dennis is successful and fulfilled with his career, and the boys are happy with their schools and sports. Thanks to their awesome support staff with both, they even have a well-defined plan for finishing school based on their college plans, and one for achieving their goals with taekwondo. And not only am I satisfied in knowing that they're all happy, but I'm just loving this chance to live in beautiful Colorado!
Now that you’ve learned a little more about our history and why we are crazy enough to live apart, stay with us while we try new ways to stay connected and continue documenting our lives.
We want to hear from others who are either considering or already in a LDR. How do you stay connected? What struggles do you have, and what works well? Leave us a reply below or contact us through the form.
