I was thinking about our first relocation the other morning while I was at the gym - doing ab crunches, which I hate. Guess I needed something to get my mind off of what I was doing.

But what I was thinking about was much harder than a hundred ab crunches.

Our first relo was from Detroit, MI to Boston, MA. We had two children (3 and 2), I was in graduate school and working, and my wife was working for General Motors (at that time everyone in MI either worked for one of the big automakers or a related industry. We were interested in going to Boston and she had an opportunity for a new job there. So the decision was made.

Because of grad school, and her job, my wife went off to Boston to start work and lived in a hotel for 3 months. I stayed in Dearborn Height with the kids, and continued grad school and working. We got to visit a couple of times during this period, meeting midway in New York. This was one of the hardest things I have ever done - and it was especially hard for the girls not having their mother around.  And I know it was so hard for my wife to not be home with her girls. Talking on the phone daily helped, but it's just not the same. I was also starting my job hunt in Boston since I was at a point with grad school when I could live elsewhere and finish my research. Fortunately some of my wife's family a couple of hours away so periodic visits helped.

My wife started house hunting and plans were made to put our first house in MI on the market. Busy times, for sure. Our house didn't sell right away but off to Boston I went with the kids. We moved into a rental apartment for a couple of months while we waited for the Michigan house to sell (tough market back then) and to close on our new home in Boston. Because of the rental most of our furniture and personal stuff remained in storage.

This was a really tough emotional, and physically draining, experience for everyone, but it all worked out...finally (took about 5 months). We moved into our new home outside Boston, I started a new job and continued to work on finishing my degree (which meant a monthly trip from Boston to Detroit...by car [15 hours each way] since money was not abundant in those days), the kids started pre-school down the street, my wife settled more into her job and life moved on.

Going through relocation yourself? I know what it's like. Guess those ab crunches weren't so bad after all.