When Family Must Move

For my sister, Caryl Reed, this past year has been filled with changes within her family. On November 12, 2022, Caryl’s son Allen and his wife Gaby left Wyoming and moved to Eugene, Oregon. They had been living in Casper, while Gaby went to nursing school. Gaby then went to work at Banner Health in Casper, while Allen was working there as a hospital administrator. It was a perfect situation for Caryl. While Caryl is happy for Allen and Gaby, she still misses them very much. She hadn’t had Allen and Gaby living near her for a long time. It was a time that Caryl will always consider herself blessed to have had.

On July 12, 2022, Caryl’s husband Mike retired. Caryl had been retired for a few years. Caryl and Mike had been planning, and preparing their ranch outside of Casper for this momentous change in their lives, for some time. Suddenly the time had come, and they were ready to make the move. It was so exciting for everyone, but it also meant that they would be leaving Caryl’s daughter, Andrea Beach and their grandson Chris Spicer; along with Mike’s daughter Amanda Reed and her partner, Sean Mortensen in Rawlins; as well as, their granddaughter, Jadyn Mortensen in Laramie, where she is going to college. That makes the move bittersweet.

Now, almost a year later, Chris Spicer is graduating from high school in Rawlins, and so he and his mom, Andrea will be moving to Casper. For Caryl, that means that once more, she will have some of her family living nearby. Of course, there will always be a tie to Rawlins, because Amanda’s family has no intention of moving, at this time anyway. Andrea has been wanting to move to Casper for some time, and wouldn’t have waited, but Chris is a senior at Rawling High School, and you just don’t move a kid in their last year of high school. Everyone agreed that it was best for him to finish there, but I know Caryl will be happy to have them in the same city again. It’s a hard thing to have your family live in a different place, especially when it is far away from you. It always nice to have at least one child close by. Thankfully, Rawlins isn’t too far away, nor is Laramie, so Caryl and Mike will be able to visit Amanda and her family easily. That will help too. For Caryl and Mike, family is very important, as it is for all our sisters and for our families, but we also know that sometimes our children must move elsewhere for the betterment of their families. It is just a sad reality, but they are happy, and so will we be. It always nice to have at least one child close by. Today is Caryl’s birthday. Happy birthday Caryl!! Have a great day!! We love you!!