I have been trying to think about where to start on this one and it's tricky! The "pieces of the puzzle" have been falling into place slowly but surely for months, so I will try to start there.
1. I left my job at MCC. (Here's a background story Why I Left) It was primarily a professional decision, but there were a few other side factors as well. One was that along with wanting to pursue avenues in technology integration for professional reasons, it was personal too - a technology integration position would likely be more family friendly than being a classroom teacher. The third factor was that Daniel was reaching the end of the program he has been working on for six years and timing was prime...if we were ever going to move it was now.
2. Daniel has been the chief software engineer for his program for the past six years and has seen it through its full life cycle - the program was supposed to end eighteen months ago...then twelve months ago...then three months ago...but seriously - they were heading into testing in June. While the program will be testing and doing additional things for months and months...the most critical work is done and well, it's a great time for him to transition out (compared to any other point before now in the past six years).
3. Suddenly we felt incredibly mobile! If I left my job we were not tethered for the reason, nor tethered to the static nature of the school calendar. Plus Daniel's program was winding down so he wasn't going to be professionally blacklisted for screwing his program over. We checked home values in our area - they were up! Not as up as we would like them to be - but up enough that we would not be losing major $ if we left - we could break even or even better! All of a sudden we felt mobile and free!!! Now where to go?
4. All of this happened right at the end of the school year - I left my seventh year of teaching on a Friday afternoon, Daniel finished the baseline build for his program after putting in overtime by Sunday, and we were off to Europe on Monday! (Well, actually Tuesday, but that's an entirely different frustrating story). We decided to enjoy Europe and work on the job applications when we returned. Within two weeks of getting home we found out that I was pregnant! Suddenly things seemed even more meant to be...maybe it would be easier for all of us if this year my job was to get the house ready to sell, help us get move and get settled in, have the time to work on making professional connections once we reached an area, and enjoy a maternity leave that was longer than six weeks!
5. We started applying - all over - the geographic requirement? SEASONS! Texas was an unacceptable option. We needed Upstate mountains or further North. It also had to be an area where I would have options professionally (which is a lot of places, but also gave me veto power). There was actually a company that was courting Daniel (he had first and second interviews with them and it was progressing towards scheduling an on-site interview) - there were seasons (it was beautiful, mountainous, etc), it was a pretty good fit for him professionally, but there the population was a bit too sparse for us - there was one high school in the area and a few within a thirty to forty minute drive. For me it really wasn't going to work. We kept looking. He had an interview once or twice a week through July with various companies, spoke with head-hunter/recruiters on numerous occasions, and we kept an open mind. As we had few nibbles from Colorado (one of our dream destintions) and I thought about the benefit of living somewhere that was a days drive to the grandparents (for all of our benefits) we became less focused on trying to find something awesome in Colorado. As we rolled into August with the company (that he has accepted a position with) became a front runner and by mid August he had an on-site interview scheduled in Maryland for August 29th.
I don't want to be unprofessional on Daniel's behalf and get into a detailed analysis between his current company and his future employer. But in the end, the future employer had better benefits (I will say that Daniel's current company had just significantly decreased medical coverage - particularly maternity - JUST after I started seeking prenatal care and this company has much better support - so for our immediate needs it was a very nice benefit), provided a raise that would off-set the cost-of-living increase, and was an excellent fit for him professionally. Many of the companies he interviewed with wanted him to work in a certain area, be a code monkey for an indefinite about of time, and eventually work his way up. This company was very excited about his skill sets and is bringing him on as a technical lead for different programs. This company also highly encourages its engineers to work on more than one program at a time - which suits Daniel's high-need-for-variety-and-challenge very well. And, they recognized the masters and the hours towards his second masters as additional years of experience when determining where he placed - very exciting, because his current employer never really recognized the masters.
Daniel has actually flown up to this area for work to be the liaison with this company multiple times over the past few years and has always come back from his business trips raving about the company. He always comes back talking about how young, smart, and interesting the people are and how he really likes the atmosphere.
What am I excited about? Deciduous trees! Fall! Seasons! Being near lots of things to do! Not being a hostage in my own home from April - September! (This redhead is just tired of the heat and the sunblock and has likened it to not liking cold and living in Alaska). I'm just done. I want so badly to just get to be outside! I am excited for seasons that will make it feel like a year has occurred instead of feeling frozen (or melted) in time - palm trees in December just doesn't do it for me! My sister just moved to the area a few months ago so we'll be in the same town for the first time in over a decade! My grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc in NJ will be three hours away! Our dear friends Arthur and Kristina moved there several years ago! And! we have lots of other people we know in the area that we haven't even really realized we'll get to see yet - I seriously need to sit down and work through facebook - I am pretty sure it's bunches of people! And professionally? Lots and lots of options! I am excited for our future kiddos education (we are heading to an area with fantastic school districts). And being the adventurous people we are... We are excited for different and a new area to explore!
And so - we are moving! It's a big step - but I think it's a good one. We are really excited about it! Things are moving incredibly fast now! Daniel's on-site interview was August 29th, he accepted an offer on Friday, September 6th, we listed our house on the market September 9th and Daniel gave his company two weeks notice, the movers came to consult and plan our move on Friday Sept. 13th, they will pack us up Monday Sept 23rd, load the truck Sept 24th, and we will be in Maryland (after stopping to see the fam in SC) by Friday Sept 27th night so we can spend the weekend checking out the area! Daniel starts work Monday, September 30th! His future employer fully covers relocation and provides us with thirty days of temporary housing while we are figuring out how now to be homeless. We are having them ship Daniel's car and driving my car together to SC for a few days with family and then onward to Maryland (we could have all flown, but shipping Chance seemed stressful and we weren't sure when else we would have time to visit family in the next few months). So - Viola!
We are incredibly excited! But, of course we are currently in the midst of lots of unknowns - will our house sell? Where will we live when we get there? Etc. Am I stressed? I mean...have you ever known anyone who is moving to feel the most relaxed they've ever felt? Right. So yes, I am stressed - but very reasonably so - and I can assure all of you that most would find me uncannily calm. I keep reminding myself that previous Beth and Daniel spent MONTHS discussing what would be best for them and our future and our future family and now that everything is happening super crazy fast, I have to trust that previous Beth and Daniel knew what was best for future Beth and Daniel and just try to roll with it and enjoy my friends and time here while I can. So we have! (We have never wanted to live in FL forever - in fact we've been talking about an exit strategy for years - and thought we had a few more years before we could make it happen...but then all of a sudden those puzzle pieces have had a mind of their own!).
I am SO glad the most I have to pack is the valuables, important documents, and what I need for thirty days of temporary housing. I have several hours of things to weed through and prep before the movers get here - but I have another week to do it, and really - it'll be fine. Our poor pup has ben stressed, but he's rolling with it. Moving lots of furniture the first weekend and having different people in the house was very stressful for him, but now that the new things have "stayed the same" he's just fine. We made sure he went to daycare again last week to keep routine and to give him an axiety outlet.
It's all rolling - ready or not, here we go!
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| This picture is actually of us in the Quito airport getting ready to fly to San Cristobal in the Galapagos - but I think it captures how we're doing right now too! Ready and excited for our next adventure! |
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