Around the time my husband Aaron and I moved to Tampa, FL my brother-in-law and sister-in-law moved to the small town of Frozen Falls, MN. I was thrilled with everything about our move. I loved the beach. I loved the warmth. I loved being in a big city. I loved all of the cultures that were present there.
I especially loved being in a city with so many Latino people. I speak Spanish (it’s a long story). I’m a nurse and was working in a level 1 trauma center (think the more critical emergencies) and got to speak Spanish all the time with my patients- fulfilling the reason I became a nurse in the first place. Plus, I love Cuban food.
My first winter in Florida I smugly posted screenshots of our weather forecast when I knew my friends and family members were facing cold weather and even posted this meme:
Meanwhile, our relatives in Frozen Falls would send screenshots of their weather forecast and at times it was literally ONE HUNDRED degrees colder in Frozen Falls than in Tampa. The furthest north I’ve ever lived is Atlanta and my brain did not even know how to process that number- it’s like when people start talking about “trillions” of something. I know it’s a lot, but I can’t picture it in my head. And every time I would text something back like, “Nope. Nope. Nope.” Or, “y’all can keep that weather.” If it got down below about 40 degrees I’d text a family member in a colder climate and say, “hey, your weather is all up in my yard, drunk. Come get it and take it home.” We eventually had to leave Tampa to pursue better job opportunities and be closer to family in the north metro Atlanta area- the furthest north I’ve ever lived.
My husband became a partner in the business we moved for but over the years we realized there were some things going on that we didn’t want to be a part of. Several years in we knew we had to get out, even though doing so would cause us to lose an amount of money worth about twice what our first house cost us. My husband was burned out, overworked, and tired of wondering about some shady ethical practices…so he quit.
By this point we had 4 kids plus my 91-year-old grandmother- Letty- living with us, so a lot of people were depending on us and neither of us had back up employment lined up. I hadn’t been working for several years because I was homeschooling a couple of my kids and caring for my grandmother. Because of this I accidentally missed renewing my nursing license by one week- and now I have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get it reinstated. I tried things like driving for doordash and ubereats but it made one of my kids so anxious I had to stop. The jobs available in our area for my husband promised only to increase his burnout due to heavy workloads.
Then Aaron got a text from his brother Joe in Frozen Falls. Joe happened to know the Chief Medical Officer at the local hospital in Frozen Falls. Joe suggested that Aaron give the CMO, Mike, a call to talk things through and maybe figure out the best way to start branching out.
What started as a call to get advice on finding jobs in the medical field turned into an opportunity we could have never imagined. Mike said he believed he could find a position for Aaron in Frozen Falls. I said, “nope, not going up there.” Then we found out this position paid more and Aaron would only have to work normal banker’s hours (no late shifts or holidays) and only 4 days per week. The position he left had him working 50-60 hours per week most weeks, except for once a month when he had to work 12 days in a row with no day off. They offered to fly us up- the whole family- for Aaron to interview. I figured, we might as well let them fly us up for free to visit Joe and his family- why not?
Well, long story short- the long story will come later,- the interview went well and now our multigenerational family of seven is moving from the South to Frozen Falls, MN. When Aaron and I came to this difficult decision we figured the kids would be fine- they’d be excited to live near their four cousins who are of similar ages. But what would Grandma Letty say? Just less than 3 years ago we moved her down to the south from Plymouth, MA. What would she say when we told her we were dragging her back to the frozen north? (As it turns out, the answer was, “Well! I guess I’m going to have to learn how to ski!”)
Yet again, one of the things I said I would never do is happening, as has been a theme throughout my life. I want to share the good, the bad, and the questionable about a big family with big city origins in the South adjusting to life in a very small, very rural town in western Minnesota. Will we find a house to accommodate the various needs of a family aging in range from 3 to 92? Will we make it through our first winter without going completely crazy? Will this suburban mom ever learn to cope with having to drive an hour to the nearest Target?
The answers to these questions and more will hopefully be found here in the coming months (and maybe years!). So come along for a ride on the Hot Mess Express because it may have started with a never; but it ended with telling never, never mind.
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