Last Day Santa Fe

On Mother’s Day, we ate lunch on a cobblestone alley at a cafe in Taos, NM – next to artist shops, a bookstore where Lucy bought a book that came with a dragon tooth (or a dragon tooth that came with a book), and a place that sold rocks (there are a lot of places that sell rocks out here). The girls bought arrowheads.

While eating lunch, we asked Eleanor and Lucy what they’ve learned on our trip – eight months, 26 states, and more hikes than we can count (definitely learned we like to hike).

I learned math! – Lucy
I learned long division! – Eleanor
I learned how to read! – Lucy

Ok ok, besides school, what else? Did you learn anything about yourself?

I learned that change can be a good thing, Eleanor said.

Oof, right? Brooke and I leaned back in our chairs, filled with parental awe, and said yeah yeah, that’s it, E. Change can be good. I think traveling has taught all of us that.

For as long as Eleanor and Lucy have been around, we’ve built a life around consistency. School, friends, house. And that’s great, and we look forward to having this all again. But when did I learn change is good? Thirty-nine? It certainly wasn’t as a ten-year-old. And if you understand this at 10 and 7, what does that do to you? Where can you go in life if you know change is ok? 

Of course, this is unknown; only time will reveal her secrets – if what we did as parents mattered. As our journey comes to a conclusion (Or is it? What are endings?) and we feel more stress than we’ve ever felt thanks to the wildly unexpected and unfortunate housing market, I hold on to hope that the answer is yes – the last eight months have mattered. 

And with that, we leave Santa Fe. Can’t wait to see you all soon.

PS: Where are we going to live? We don’t know. We should probably know, right? But alas, we don’t. We’ll be in Forest Park, IL for a bit. And then somewhere after that, I would think.