Well, hey there friends! My sincerest apologies for the extended radio silence here this summer. As you’ll soon see, life has been a smidge…crazy…and I honestly had to put posting on total hold just to get through. But, I’m beyond excited to be back, and I am ready to catch you up on what’s been going on the last three months as well as what’s ahead here on the blog (spoiler: I’m back!)

Megan from The Homes I Have Made sitting on a white and blue bed with text overlap

What a Summer It’s Been!

I certainly didn’t intend to disappear from the blog for a solid 3 months (in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever gone that long without posting in over 13 years of doing this!), but this summer proved to be full (and exhausting) on so many levels. Let’s rewind!

Change of Command

The summer kicked off with my husband turning over his job as a Battalion Commander. While the whole family was indeed ready to turn the page on a very challenging, sometimes heavy, often rewarding, and always time-consuming chapter, it was also a hectic period of ceremonies, parties, and entertaining friends and family. Even after all the fanfare was over, it took us (all) a surprising amount of time to settle amidst the reverberations of a stressful few years.

Three US Marines with a Marine Corps flag

House Un-Do

A change in job for my husband means another move for the family! But before we could move, we had to return our North Carolina home back into its original condition.

Over the years, so many of you have asked what it’s like to un-do all my hard work (it really sucks, actually) and how long it all takes (not nearly as long as you’d think). I tried to document much of the un-doing this time around, so I’ll be sharing more details in a future post.

But in short…we did a lot to this specific house so there was quite a bit to un-do. And by the time we were loaded up and ready to go, my favorite rental home (so far) was completely back to its boring and basic beige!

Boy peeling tile stickers off the floor
Greg peeling blue and white wallpaper off the wall
Two little boys peeling blue flower decals of a bathroom wall

Doing the DITY

Speaking of loading up, at almost 20 years of military moves, we decided this was the year to try something new: a DITY.

(For those of you who aren’t military, this term means “do it yourself,” rather than relying on a professional moving company to do it.)

While moving is always busy and stressful, packing our own boxes and loading our own PODS added an entirely new level of effort (and time!) that we’re not used to. I actually can’t wait to tell you all about this experience because we learned so much!

Megan packing a moving box

FLORIDA!

In the middle of all of the house un-doing and box packing, we also squeezed in a family trip to Walt Disney World! Neither my husband nor I have been since we were in high school, and it’s a trip we’ve been promising and planning since arriving in North Carolina.

It was indeed a magical week and a welcome break from the moving chaos, but it also came with its own stress (the overwhelm of Disney proved a bit much for our 4 year old, to say the least). In the end, we were grateful to get in some dedicated family time, because when we returned home, it was time to execute move #10!

Megan with Minnie Mouse ears and a Mickey ice cream

New State, New Home

For those of you who have asked, no I haven’t yet revealed where we are (now) living. I didn’t mean to drag the “announcement” out for so long (but I also didn’t intend to take the whole summer off). As I write this, we have made our way to home #10 and are (mostly) settled in. This move has proven to be (and will continue to be) different than most of our others. I promise not to play coy any longer: I’ll be revealing our new location this month!

(Hint: we are NOT overseas as many of you have guessed, but I did finally get to add a new State to our wall!)

White house next to a green tree

What’s Next for the Blog?

I suspect that even just with a move and vacation and kids home all day, every day (ugggg, kids home!), most of you would understand the need for me to step away this summer. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t fully address the heart of my prolonged absence.

As many of you dedicated readers have probably been able to sense, I’ve been sitting on the precarious edge of total burnout for much of the last year. Content creation is an exhausting business that requires a more-is-more approach. Two+ years ago, I was chomping at the bit to transform our NC home, determined to “push the limits” of what was possible in a rental. And while we did just that, doing so resulted in a level of DIY fatigue and even disdain (gasp!) that I’d never experienced before. I began feeling burdened by the projects I was taking on and then even more overwhelmed by the process required to turn it into content for you.

While I attempted to readjust, scale back, and even just push through, I started to (reluctantly) acknowledge that my time as a blogger had perhaps run its course. Trying to figure out where I fit, if I fit, and even if I wanted to fit left me practically paralyzed (hence the total silence). Just a few months ago, I fully expected today’s post to be a farewell of sorts.

Hands at a computer

And then something happened: we moved. And as we settled into yet another new space, I found myself executing new tricks, hacks, and clever ideas to make this home work. I re-realized the joy and satisfaction I experience in making each home work just right; and I genuinely, earnestly couldn’t wait to share these new ideas with you. It became clear that walking away wasn’t the answer, but an adjustment no doubt needed to be made.

I’m not going to bore you with the soul searching, reflection, and research I’ve done this summer in order to navigate a way forward that feels right in my bones. Only time will tell if the changes I’m making on my side will result in me delivering more of the helpful and inspiring ideas you’ve come to love. But as I sit here now, knowing I was a breath away from being done for good, it’s refreshing to have a To Do List full of tasks I’m genuinely excited to tackle.

Admittedly, I’ve been embarrassed and worried about the long-term impact of taking the last 3 months off (Can I recover? Do I still have it? Will you all still be here?), but I have a hunch that my time away may turn out to be my most valuable spent yet.

Ask Megan

You guys always ask the greatest questions, and I love answering them! If you have any topics or questions you’d love to see me cover, submit them via the (anonymous) form below.

To those of you who reached out over the last few months (and there were many of you!) and to all who didn’t but wanted to, thank you for your concern. I certainly didn’t mean to leave you “hanging,” and I thank you for affording me the space and time to figure out the best way onward and upward.

See You Soon!
Megan