So long, Lone Star State. For now, at least.
In a little under a month, we’ll be loading up a rental truck and hauling our belongings across the country to my parents’ house in Maryland. It seems very sudden, but, in some ways, it was a long time coming.
Once, pretty much all of my side of the family lived here in Texas. Then, my father’s job got transferred to Maryland, and he, my mother, and two of my siblings moved out East. Later, my sister and her husband settled in Pennsylvania, leaving us the only ones still out West.
About twice a year, we’d get to go out East to see my parents and siblings and even though we’d use as much vacation time as I had, it always seemed far too short a time. Every time our kids would see their grandparents, they’d grown significantly between visits.
Then there was just the general feeling of disconnectedness. We have wonderful, wonderful friends here in Texas, but there’s something about being near family. Amanda asked if I’d start investigating employment closer to my parents, and I agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly at first.
Well, shortly before this last Christmas, I received a callback, asking if I’d be willing to participate in a phone interview after the holidays. The interview went nicely, and later I had a follow-up call with the CIO. Then came reference checking and a few more calls and then…eventually, they made me an offer.
It took a lot of deliberation, agonizing, talking and prayer before we finally decided to go for it. My parents were more than happy to have us as long-term house guests, which we’d be while getting our Texas home sold and our debts paid down. It was still a bit of a leap, but we decided that it was a chance worth taking.
So now we’re frantically pulling all of our belongings out, trying to find new homes for the stuff we don’t want or need, and packing the things that we do. The days seem so short, and the hours so fleeting. We’re excited. We’re terrified. We’re hopeful. We’re a little bit heartbroken. So many loose ends to tie up. So much that we’ll be leaving behind.
So much more to say, but I’ll stop now. Just wanted to let people know what’s up. Pray for us, if you would. The days ahead are guaranteed to be interesting.
