- "T's probably at the airport now boarding his flight for Michigan."
- "Today is the first day I've taken care of all 3 of our kids without any help from T."
- "I really need to shower."
And so began my day. T not having a job has been an interesting adventure for all of us and we've learned a lot about our family, our relationship dynamic, and our individual strengths and weaknesses. I often find myself reflecting on The Family: A Proclamation to the World and pondering how well I'm fulfilling my roles. I think about how Adam ate his bread by the sweat of his brow while Eve labored along with him. I hear a line from one of my favorite movies where Carroll O'Connor says, "I'm blessed with work!" through a weary Irish accent. I think about it all the time and try to look at our experiences now as the crucible they are.
We went to the park one sunny afternoon a few weeks back and met a father that was there playing with his 3 kids. In the course of our conversation we learned that he was a Realtor and so we asked him our questions, we got the answers we thought we would and 2 days later our house was on the market as a short sale. For the next seven days we had buyers coming through our house and we'd have to hurry and scoot out with all our kiddos. Suffice it to say, we've been to the mall more in the last month than we have in the last 3 years.
Meanwhile, T has had two promising job leads: one in Eastern Washington and the other in Lansing, Michigan. I must admit that I wasn't thrilled about the Michigan prospect to begin with. The first thing I thought about was the kids and I getting cabin fever through the long winters. Yet, with time I saw how T was honestly excited by the company and their technology and I was comforted by the fact that they have solid funding (we've learned that lesson).
T also found out about a job in Eastern Washington through a friend/former coworker. He was put in touch with a friend of our friend that works at the company and he talked to T about what they do, how much he likes it, etc.
Both prospects were in the works when I took E to play at his friend's house down the street last Friday. When I came home an hour and a half later, T was finalizing his travel plans for an interview in MI, waiting for a call back from the corporate travel agent for an interview in WA and we'd gotten an offer on our home. I told T, "Whoa! I need to leave the house more often!"
And that brings us to today. T is asleep in Lansing and will have his interview tomorrow. His flight gets in shortly before midnight tomorrow and then he'll take off for WA on Sunday afternoon for his interview on Monday morning. We officially accepted the house offer yesterday and now our Realtor is submitting everything to our lender.
I feel cautiously optimistic about everything. I'm very aware that we're wholly reliant on the Lord for all we have and whatever happens. Ultimately, He'll take us where we need to be. What matters most is that we're on this crazy ride together.
On another upbeat note, I officially declare today a success. The kids are sleeping, the floors are clean, we ate 3 balanced meals (though I did eat about 4x faster than I do when T is here), we played with friends, the sun was shining, the dishes are done, we made an unscheduled trip to the doctor, and I showered. Now I need to go to bed so I can have an equally successful day tomorrow!
WE MISS YOU, DADDY!
