Facing an Empty Calendar After a Move

By Jamie Vukelich, Social Media Director at Just Moved Ministry

Before I knew I was moving, my calendar was full of things to do: meetings, volunteer activities, soccer games, and coffee meet-ups with the gals. I would get to the end of the day, review what I had up tomorrow, and think “I am way too busy.”

Then, I found out we were moving.

Suddenly, my time was filled with totally different events: yard sales, getting the house ready to show (and leaving the house during showings), good-bye parties, and packing boxes. I would get to the end of the day, review what I needed to do tomorrow, and think, “I am way too busy.”

Finally we moved, and it was summer. I looked at my phone calendar and saw nothing but empty space.

No sports for the kids (and no play dates yet, either).

No neighborhood get-togethers. Honestly, it didn’t seem like the kind of street that would have any in the future.

We went to church on Sunday, but there were few events there until fall.

I would wake up in the morning, consider the blank day ahead, and think, “Gosh, I wish I was busy.”

At the same time, I felt peace living with an empty docket—a clean slate. I wasn’t in a continual state of “hurry up.” I wasn’t overly committed.

We had dinners at home at the table instead of fast food burgers in the car on the way to sports practice.

We had time to explore our new community.

We checked out the parks, lakes, libraries, and local hikes, even if my kids didn’t think it was cool to be doing it with Mom. At that point, I was the best friend they had in the area, and if the outing ended up at a Dairy Queen, that was good enough for them.

I also had time to think about how I wanted to fill my days once life picked up.

I helped at a local food pantry in my old town—did I want to jump into that again, or did I want to explore other ways to volunteer? There could be opportunities in my new town that I hadn’t heard of, and unless I set aside the time to explore before I leaped, I would never know.

Were my priorities in the right place?

I started journaling (with my extra time in the evenings) and thinking through what was important in my life. I would disappear for a half-hour walk before my husband left for work and try to spend those 30 minutes listening to music and tuning out the world. I discovered I was making margins in my life for me.

And I liked it.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I found that summer of lazy days and empty afternoons, a good time to re-center myself. I had always lived with the three “F” priorities—faith, family, and friends. True, I was lacking in the last one, but did I need to fill that bucket up right away? Where did the non-stop activities for the kids fit in? That certainly wasn’t how I grew up, so did we need to fill that bucket up right away, too?

Lastly, we did a lot of cleaning out for the move. We got rid of toys the kids had outgrown and clothes that we all had outgrown or worn threadbare. With my “not-yet-cluttered” basement, I set up a crafting corner, something I always wanted to have. Then, I poked around the local craft store to find out about some classes for when the kids went off to school.

Suddenly, I would have the time (and the place) to work on a hobby I always enjoyed.

I’d love to say that I had this perfect new life, but that isn’t quite so.

At times I was lonely and a bit envious of my husband who got to go off to work every day to laugh and lunch with work colleagues. Soon enough, I was overwhelmed with school activities, home renovations, and finding a new doctor, dentist, and hair salon. I let my hair go a little gray until I sussed out that last one. Oh, and did I tell you about the still-full moving boxes I hid in the attic so I didn’t have to see them accusing me every day?

Nonetheless, it was a summer I remember fondly. Being our own little island for a while brought us together as a family and that is a priceless gift.