Places In The Heart

It was March, 2004. My husband and I were taking a belated honeymoon to a place I had read about and yearned to visit. Roy had never even heard of it but was willing to go. The place: Sedona, Arizona.

We arrived on a Monday afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing. The next morning I was just waking up when Roy came in off the balcony where he had been sitting, watching the sunrise over Thunder Mountain. He sat down on the edge of the bed and announced to me, “I think I could live here.”

I was certain that I was dreaming. Had my husband, a native of Long Island, NY and a lifelong surfer, just told me that he could live hundreds of miles away from the nearest ocean? I asked him to repeat what he had said, but even when he did I just shook my head. Granted, we had a magnificent view outside of our window, but how did that translate into a trans-continental move?

We went on a small tour that morning and found ourselves listening with interest when the tour guide mentioned the median price of houses along with the various types of cactii. Later Roy went looking for a real estate booklet but couldn’t find one. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday passed quickly with a trip to the Grand Canyon, massages, great meals and a hot air balloon ride.

After the balloon excursion we rented a Harley and went for a drive around town. We stopped to get a T-shirt for a friend and then tried to exit the parking lot back onto 89-A. We somehow missed the exit and wound up in the lot of a real estate agency. Hmnn…Since we were already there, we decided to go inside and check out the cost of property. When we entered we were greeted by a lovely woman named Amy who asked us what sort of property we had in mind. We had absolutely no idea since we had never discussed any of this. She said, “Were you thinking of West Sedona or the Village?”

“What’s the Village?” was our reply. She gave us directions and told us that she would meet us there after she picked her kids up from school. So off we went, riding through some of the most beautiful scenery we’d seen yet. We came around a corner into the valley community she must have been speaking of, pulled off at the first street and looked up and around.

This was It. We weren’t sure what “It” was, but we were completely enchanted by our surroundings. We met Amy again and she proceeded to show us some houses that were on the market. (As we drove around in her car, we both had the feeling that we were playing make-believe.) She first took us to a somewhat broken-down rental property, probably to gauge our level of interest. We told her no thanks, and that we’d rather see something more modern.

She checked her listings and then drove us to a place that hadn’t been for sale very long. We stepped inside and both of us drew a breath. Somehow we’d walked into our dream house. (Roy’s brother and sister-in-law had the exact same lay-out in their home and we agreed that one day we’d like to have that design, too.) We toured the house, together and separately, and I knew when I saw the room that would be my office, that I’d come home. Roy and I came together again in the kitchen area and quietly stared at one other. He said, “Do we have to look any further?” I said, “No.” Amy just stared back at us.

My heart was pounding as we drove back to her office, and while she put some papers together, we did the calculations. Yes, with some help with the down-payment, we could do it. Oh my goodness – we could actually buy our future retirement house. Then again, we didn’t exactly come prepared; we didn’t even have our checkbook. “Do you take credit cards?” Roy asked.

This happened 5 years ago, and in the intervening years my mother passed away, my kids went to college and Roy retired. We moved to Sedona full-time in 2007.

Somehow, we had known almost immediately that this was the place for us. Somehow, we both understood in our hearts and souls that we were “supposed” to be here. If you had told me this story in 2003 I would have had a good laugh. I could never imagine leaving the east coast, although I figured that a time would come when we might want to live in a place other than our historic little New Jersey community.

There are many factors that impact a choice of location, but I’ve learned that one that shouldn’t be discounted is the yearning of my soul. I believe that we were “called” to this place and the truth is that we’ve never been happier. There are things that we’re meant to do here.

I would say to those of you who have mulled over such a move – consider all the variables, but listen to what your gut is telling you. There are no accidents. And there most definitely are places in the heart.