So Adrian and I have decided that we're packing up and moving pretty much exactly 5 weeks from today. He graduates on the 21st, and we'll load up the van on the 22nd and head out west on the 23rd of May. We have a full schedule in between then: Adrian is finishing up finals this week, we have Easter Feaster with friends this weekend, and a get-together with good friends Mike and Clara on Saturday. Next weekend we have a bachelorette party for my new friend Amy on Friday, and a MayDay party on Sunday. Talk about a full dance card!
The next week we have a NYC trip on Friday, Amy and George's wedding on Saturday, then a 3-Day trip up to Boston to see Josh, Jenna, and Evie Lou on Sunday.
I'm putting in my 2 weeks notice this Wednesday at TJ's, which is bittersweet. I didn't want to stay for too long, but I've made good friends there, and they will be missed.
The next week is full of pig roasts, preaching, and packing up, and then graduation is the last weekend we'll be here.
I'm really sad to leave now that we're getting to the end. I've been out here 5 years, which is longer than I'd ever expected (or wanted) to be. I have made great friends out here, and some only in the last year. It is sad to leave them, and I hope that we'll keep up ties once we're gone. Going back home will be wonderful, because I have really missed my family, but all of my friends are in LA, so it may be a bit isolating for us, and Adrian in particular. At least we'll have tons of baby sitters! It will just take some getting used to, I guess.
But the trip will be fun! We're hoping to stop in Chicago, to get in a good break with the in-laws before heading to California. And we're still debating whether or not to do route 66 the whole way or else do the "Oregon Trail," which neither of us have done.
OK, the baby is awake, and thinking about this makes me tired. I'll keep you updated!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Seventh Inning Stretch
Well, we're off to the Yankees/Twins game today in the Bronx. I got off work and we're heading for the train station in an hour. It will be Mae's first game! It's very exciting. I can remember going to baseball games as a kid and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. Later on, going to games was a rare occasion, and I'm glad to be getting back into it.
There are a lot of things that I want my little daughter to do that I got to do as a kid, and I'm looking forward to revisiting those fun activities myself. Camping, traveling, going to the park--it will be awesome.
It's hard for me to not already have a tiny baby baseball mitt, football, and basketball for her.
Meanwhile, having all this fun at games, museums, and parks all seems to be edged with the worry about what is going to happen in the next two months. Job prospects are thin right now, and worries about money health insurance for the babe are thick. So, we're in a seventh inning stretch of a sorts. We're down in runs, but we're still enjoying the game, and there are still innings to play.
There are a lot of things that I want my little daughter to do that I got to do as a kid, and I'm looking forward to revisiting those fun activities myself. Camping, traveling, going to the park--it will be awesome.
It's hard for me to not already have a tiny baby baseball mitt, football, and basketball for her.
Meanwhile, having all this fun at games, museums, and parks all seems to be edged with the worry about what is going to happen in the next two months. Job prospects are thin right now, and worries about money health insurance for the babe are thick. So, we're in a seventh inning stretch of a sorts. We're down in runs, but we're still enjoying the game, and there are still innings to play.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Two days in a row!
Two days in a row. Don't get used to it.
I love warmer weather. It looks terrible outside, and it will probably rain most of the day, but it is WARM. It's like I've been only 75% alive. I had no idea what a difference weather made when I lived in LA, and I like the snow and the cold, but it is the whole idea of not being comfortable for 6 months out of the year that really gets to me. More than that, it's the potholes and the fact that it's hard to grill in 17 degrees and how I end up wearing the same 4 outfits over and over again. Add a baby in the mix, and it's a wonder I survived! The last few winters I used exercise to get through, but I haven't been able to find a balance there between work, play, and baby.
...
I am glad for this time for reflection. It makes Herculean tasks seem very doable. I'm hoping that by the time I post again, I'll have gone to the gym!
Baby stuff: Mae and I went to our friends in Bryn Mawr yesterday for dinner. She was perfect as usual, and is getting so good at rolling onto her stomach. Unfortunately, she can't quite get back the other way, which means she just grunts and whines until I flip her back. It is a fun game we've started. We also went to the dog park to walk Louisa's dog Calvin, and Maewyn got to pet a great dane! That was really fun. There were so many dogs, and while I probably shouldn't have brought my infant to hang out with a bunch of strange animals, it was still really fun. She even has a little color on her cheeks from the sun! Let's hope that she has my skin and not her daddy's.
Tonight: friendluck barbecue with a "spring" theme. I hope we're not rained out!
Monday, April 4, 2011
Monday, April 4
The baby is asleep, laundry is done, and I am writing cover letters for applications! (OK, just one cover letter really, but isn't that pretty good?)
Mae has learned to transfer things from one hand to the other and back again! It was very cute to watch her try to figure that out. She has also found her toes and can put them in her mouth. This is adorable and a little disturbing. I hope her hips are okay... I know that it is normal for babies to do this (and I even tried it and could get my own toe in my mouth), but I think I may call the doc today anyway, just to be sure. Or at least my mother. :P
Josh and Jenna and Evie Louise came this weekend, and we had a blast! It was so fun seeing the two little girls together, because they are so close in age. They totally looked related. But it was great to see Evie's parents too. It is a tragedy that we live so far apart, since we seem to get along so well. Adrian and I are always sad to see them go. Good, easy, fun times. Once I figure out how to post pics and videos on this thing, I'll put some up.
So all seems to be going well on the baby front. The weather is warming up, which is awesome, and always makes everything better. The one thing I'm really working on now is getting some sort of job. I would love to find a church job, and there are some great looking churches, but none really close to family. It is hard to balance my priorities right now. Certainly family is a huge factor, but I would also like to get a "real" job, and in the process validate all of the time I spent getting this masters. More than that though, I'd like to know that I really am called to ministry, and finding a job would be a good indicator of that.
Adrian and I even talk of getting out to Africa to teach at a seminary in Ghana or Tanzania. I'm sure our mother's would have an opinion on that. :) But how do you choose? When you want two things (or eight things), and they all have their upsides and downsides. I am sorely tempted to just let things be decided for us, based on necessity or circumstance, but I know that it would be better to make a positive choice about what to do next.
These are exciting times, and the best way to deal with them is head on. It is hard, and terrifying, but those are the most interesting parts of our lives, I think. Now I just hope that I don't screw it up! There may be many right choices in the coming months, but I want Adrian and I to be the ones to make that decision.
Mae has learned to transfer things from one hand to the other and back again! It was very cute to watch her try to figure that out. She has also found her toes and can put them in her mouth. This is adorable and a little disturbing. I hope her hips are okay... I know that it is normal for babies to do this (and I even tried it and could get my own toe in my mouth), but I think I may call the doc today anyway, just to be sure. Or at least my mother. :P
Josh and Jenna and Evie Louise came this weekend, and we had a blast! It was so fun seeing the two little girls together, because they are so close in age. They totally looked related. But it was great to see Evie's parents too. It is a tragedy that we live so far apart, since we seem to get along so well. Adrian and I are always sad to see them go. Good, easy, fun times. Once I figure out how to post pics and videos on this thing, I'll put some up.
So all seems to be going well on the baby front. The weather is warming up, which is awesome, and always makes everything better. The one thing I'm really working on now is getting some sort of job. I would love to find a church job, and there are some great looking churches, but none really close to family. It is hard to balance my priorities right now. Certainly family is a huge factor, but I would also like to get a "real" job, and in the process validate all of the time I spent getting this masters. More than that though, I'd like to know that I really am called to ministry, and finding a job would be a good indicator of that.
Adrian and I even talk of getting out to Africa to teach at a seminary in Ghana or Tanzania. I'm sure our mother's would have an opinion on that. :) But how do you choose? When you want two things (or eight things), and they all have their upsides and downsides. I am sorely tempted to just let things be decided for us, based on necessity or circumstance, but I know that it would be better to make a positive choice about what to do next.
These are exciting times, and the best way to deal with them is head on. It is hard, and terrifying, but those are the most interesting parts of our lives, I think. Now I just hope that I don't screw it up! There may be many right choices in the coming months, but I want Adrian and I to be the ones to make that decision.
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