How We Ended Up in Crosslake (and Why We Took the Leap)

If you would have asked me years ago where we’d end up… Crosslake probably wouldn’t have been my answer.

Steve and I both grew up in the same general area—but still with our own little versions of it. I grew up in Palmer, which if you know it, is one of those places filled with lakes, farms, and “everyone knows everyone” kind of vibes. Steve grew up in Clearwater, just down the road, but somehow still a little different.

Honestly, I don’t even remember spending much time in Clearwater until I started dating him.

We went to the same high school—St. Cloud Technical High School—but I was a year ahead of him (because of that three-month age difference he will never let me forget 🙄😂).

We went to the same church our entire lives—St. Marcus Catholic Church in Clear Lake. The kind of place where you know everyone, your parents know everyone, and your grandparents probably know everyone too.

It was home.

It was comfortable.

And it was exactly what we thought our life would always look like.

At some point along the way, Steve started throwing around this idea…

“What if we moved to Crosslake?”

And I very confidently shut that idea down. Immediately. 😂

Like… no.

We had our people. Our routines. Our life.

Why would we leave something that already felt so good?

But Crosslake wasn’t completely unfamiliar to us.

We had spent time up there in the summers—out on the Whitefish Chain, boating, laughing, just having fun with friends; and enjoying our favorite spots on the chain, like The Wharf !

It was the kind of place you went to enjoy life… not necessarily where you pictured building one.

Because that version of Crosslake?

That was weekend fun.

That was lake days and late nights.

That wasn’t family routines and everyday life.

When we actually started talking seriously about moving, I remember thinking we’d probably end up in Pequot.

In my mind, that’s where the families were.

That’s what felt more “real life.”

But somehow… we didn’t.

We landed in Crosslake.

Kind of by chance.

And it’s honestly crazy to think about now…

how different our life would look if we hadn’t.

But here’s the thing…

I think deep down, I knew if we didn’t at least try something different, we might regret it.

And at the time, it felt like the perfect window to do it.

Ceyauna was graduating.

Linkin was just starting kindergarten.

Bri was 2.

And Cruz wasn’t even a thought yet.

Both of our jobs were secure with a new branch opening in Crosslake for the company we worked for at that time, so for once, it didn’t feel reckless… it felt possible.

And somewhere between a few conversations, a little dreaming, and yes—probably a tear or two…

I got on board.

At first, it wasn’t even a full jump.

Steve started staying in Crosslake on his own while I held things down at home in Clear Lake and came up on the weekends to enjoy a little lake life at our seasonal at Highview Campground. 

That in-between phase—where your life is technically changing, but not all the way yet—it’s a weird place to be.

 

And then somewhere between that transition and the start of kindergarten…

I made another big decision.

I was going to quit my job and become a stay-at-home mom.

We didn’t know anyone in Crosslake, and I had this vision in my head of what that season would look like.

I was going to join the PTA.

Find mom groups.

Be that Pinterest mom who had it all together. 😂

It felt exciting. Peaceful, even.

But what I didn’t fully understand yet…

was that Crosslake in the winter is a whole different world than Crosslake in the summer.

And being a stay-at-home mom in a place where you don’t know anyone?

That hits differently.

At first, we were okay.

Still happy. Still adjusting.

But it definitely felt… isolating.

And then 2020 hit.

At the beginning, I was coping in my usual way—keeping busy, planning things, escaping when I could.

I went on my first girls trip (a cruise!)

We went to Jamaica with Steve’s company

And then suddenly… everything stopped.

Now I was a stay-at-home mom

in an already isolating place

trying to homeschool a little boy who just missed his friends

while also caring for a 2-year-old who didn’t understand why she suddenly had to share mom all day.

And honestly… it was really hard.

By the end of that school year, we had made our decision.

We were finishing the year… and going back home.

We still had our house in Clear Lake.

I was going back to my job.

We were going back to what we knew.

Because at that point, the world already felt uncertain enough… we just wanted something that felt safe again.

And at first?

It felt really good.

Comforting.

Familiar.

Exciting, even.

My best friends were close again.

I was back at work.

I felt like myself again.

But slowly…

we started to realize something.

We missed Crosslake.

👉 Next up: Why we left Crosslake… and what brought us back.