New Horizons

I definitely didn’t plan this, but as I’m finally catching a few minutes to write, I find myself once again eleven days from an international move. I remember the final stretch feeling like a crunch last time, but seven years later, this is so much more overwhelming—because this time we’re moving a family of four, and trying to sell off and pack up a much larger place than half of the little apartment I shared back then. No matter how much progress we make, there always seems to be so much more left to do before we can move out of our apartment at the end of the month, and board a plane two days later.

I say “we”, but the vast majority of the work going into this move is being pushed forward by my incredible wife, with me playing a supporting role at best—trying to juggle keeping on top of my job, taking kids so that Megan can get focused time to work on this move, and somewhere in there handle the pieces of the move that can only come down to me. We’re both so tired.

But when I manage to get my head enough above water to see past all that, I am really excited for what’s next. For our next adventure. A fresh start. New horizons.

“New Horizons” has been my theme for 2025. We started this year knowing it was time to move this summer, though we didn’t know where. The first four or five months of the year were figuring that part out. We considered—and ultimately ruled out—a return to the US for a few years. Instead, it became clear to us that the right next step for our family was to move somewhere where Megan could pick up her career in international education again, and where our 4-year-old could start preschool—ideally at the same school. So Megan spent months submitting applications, interviewing, looking at openings from the Philippines to Italy to Uganda before—at about the eleventh hour—connecting with an international school in India that felt like a really good fit for her, for our daughter, and for our family. So with not much more than a month before we’d have to fly, we decided we were moving to India.

Needless to say, it has been a bit of a whirlwind since that decision. But when I actually stop and look past all the stuff filling my field of view, I’m excited for the future. I’m looking forward to being in South Asia again—though India itself will be new. Navigating a familiar but different-in-some-key-ways culture will be interesting. We managed to find a house already through some mutual contacts. We saw a video walkthrough last week and the place looks really great.

The other day I found myself reading that post from before that last big move, and what struck me was how bittersweet that move was. On some level, I was ready and eager to get back overseas, but I was also really sad to leave Blacksburg and my church there. This time, I’m mostly just ready for the new chapter. This season will always be meaningful. This is where I met my wife and we had our two kids. I’ll always look back on these memories fondly. The greatest loss will be having grandparents in the same city.

But this time, with much less internal conflict, it feels like time. We’re leaving the babies stage behind; we’re entering the school-aged era, and returning to both of us working. We’re moving to a part of the world that is meaningful to both of us and that we’re excited to share with our kids. We will be joining a community and environment that seems like it will be the restful, rejuvenating space we desperately need right now. Sitting here I’m looking at a lot that still needs to happen before wheels up in a week and a half, but I can’t wait to explore new horizons.