On Mother’s Day, 2013, Jen said, “Why do we have to go straight to Florida? Why don’t we take six months to get there? (Many times since then, she has said, with some exasperation, “I come up with a lot of ideas! They are just ideas! Why did you have to pick that one to run with?”) As a loving and supportive husband, my role is to nurture and uplift my wife in her goals and dreams, and so reluctantly I agreed to consider the prospect of a six-month trip to our new home.

Of course, if all this turns out to be a cosmic blunder, I will blame Jen. In a very loving and supportive manner. If you ever consider selling your home, quitting your job, and uprooting your family for an extended road trip, you may find, as we did, that there are a lot of moving parts, only a few of which can be glimpsed at the outset.

What makes all this bittersweet is that we—my wife and three guys and I—have found a wonderful, caring, close-knit, supportive community here in Eldersburg, MD. We run in a variety of circles, based on our individual and shared interests. We are surrounded by smiling, energetic friends who know our names and greet us seemingly everywhere we go here in town.  We have had great moments,  and sad moments.

We found a house that we could lovingly make over into something that now bears our untalented but earnest mark on every surface. We added to our family here, and have seen our kids off in first the kindergarten and then the middle school buses.

Eldersburg is our home.  We are sad to leave. But we are excited too, through our tears and fears. And we would like nothing more in all the world than to take you with us.

Welcome to our new adventure.