Economic Hard Times Lead to Multiple Moves for Family Members

It must be the economy praying havoc on the world in general. I have three adult kids and three adult step kids. Between my husband and I and those 6 kids, there has been a whopping sixteen moves in the past year. That's right-8 people managed to move 16 times in 13 months and that does not include kids and spouses. It has been a mass of confusion and frayed nerves. If there is one thing I dread it is the question: "Where is the __________?" There is no telling where "it" is unless I have been lucky enough to corral it during all of the transitions.



It started last April when my husband and I sold our place in Portales. That necessitated moving from the Place and into temporary storage. We moved our camper to a trailer park in Portales and continued to commute the 199 miles twice a week. Four months later, we were finally able to move everything from storage to the ranch into what we thought was long term storage. Alas, it turned out to be for just another few short months.



My eldest son, Brian, was changing careers. He had been in the military for 7 years and that was enough. He and his wife, along with their two children, moved from base housing to another home in Georgia. They had planned to stay in Georgia but the job market had them changing their plans. Thus, they decided to move back to New Mexico. I was delighted at the prospect as seeing the family as just a few days a year wasn't enough. They moved in October and rented a home in Los Lunas. Work was still an issue so they asked if they could move out onto the ranch with us. That meant my long term storage was suddenly needed as a home for a family of four.



We found a con-ex near the ranch and bought it to shift all of our long term storage into. Brian and his family are also using it while they finish getting their new home on the ranch in order. Frozen water lines and general repairs had to be completed before they could move in permanently. They began their stay by camping out in my living room during the worst of the winter weather until their kitchen and bathroom were functional enough to make the move more permanent.



Jeni had been living in Portales when a job opportunity had her moving to Boston in May. However, the job did not work out and we needed her on the ranch to help take care of my elderly mother. So she moved back to the ranch in general. With David having my spare bedroom and mom wanting to retain her independence, Jeni moved on to the ranch in general, but did not have a room to call her own. She split her time between my mom's house and any place she could lay her head down when she was at my house.


My youngest son, David, was ready to spread his wings once again. He decided to move from the ranch to a small house in Edgewood, New Mexico where the job opportunities would be better for his bride. With David moving out, Jeni would finally have a room to call her own. So, David moved out, and Jeni moved in. It would have been great if David had managed to move before Brian and his family moved as some of the storage of Brian's new house was David's household goods. However, things are never that simple. Brian moved in a month before David moved out. In the mean time, Jeni continued to exist by sleeping on the couch when it was available or in my bed if Jerry and I were gone.



On top of all the storage and kids moving, Jerry was also on the move. In November, a new job opened up near Hobbs, NM which is an hour further from the ranch than Portales, and an hour and a half south of Portales. Thus, Jerry moved the camper to Hobbs for the duration of that job. It ended in March and he moved the camper to the ranch as work as really slowed down on the Eastern side of the state.


Fortunately, we were not directly involved in the kids who relocated within Salt Lake City and Chicago and were not needed by the kids who moved from Hawaii to Oklahoma. I do not think I could have handled that much more. Just knowing they were moving was enough to drive me to distraction as I tried to keep a handle on where what was here on the ranch.



Our storage moved 3 times- from Place to Storage to the Ranch temporary to Ranch Permanent

The Camper moved three times, from place to Portales to Hobbs to the Ranch

Brian and his family moved three times: From Army to Georgia to Los Lunas, NM to Ranch

David moved from Ranch to Edgewood

Jeni moved from Portales to Boston to the ranch in general and finally into a bedroom on the Ranch

Rebecca moved from Hawaii to Oklahoma

Christine moved in Salt Lake City

And Donny moved in Chicago for a grand total of 16 moves from April 2010 to April 2011.



It has been a crazy year. I am beginning to wonder if all of the moving is done though I cannot imagine any other moves at this point and time. It has definitely been a struggle to stay sane and to keep track of everything necessary to keep the ranch and my extended family going. If the economy does not improve, I can see more moves taking place as everyone heads to the ranch where the cost of living is less expensive and we can grow our own food while we wait for the economy to improve.