Hard Good-Byes

Saying good-bye is so. Hard.

I remember sitting in my dorm room freshman year, reading a letter my mom gave to me as she left with the rest of my family after dropping me off at Washington State University.  My roommate hadn’t arrived yet, so I had the room to myself.  As I opened the letter, the first words made me sob.

“Today is the first of a lifetime of good-byes.”  Thankful that my roommate wasn’t there to see me, I bawled like a baby.  I missed my mom already.

Of course her letter continued on to encourage me to embrace the new friends, experiences and education I’d receive.  She noted that a good-bye is always accompanied by an introduction to something new, and reminded me how I loved a good challenge.  She iterated her love, pride and hope for my new adventure ahead.  But those first words have never left me, because they are so true.

Last weekend, David's coworkers threw him a going away party.  It was all I could do to fight back tears as their cards were read.  The following day our community group from church made a pumpkin "We'll Miss You" dessert and prayed over us as group came to a close.  It's so hard to say good-bye. So, so hard...  And I'm not even gone yet!

A lifetime of good-byes...

Now, as David, Maya and I face another good-bye to our dear friends here in Portland, my emotions are all too familiar.  Excitement is filled with anxious hope.  I’m nervous yet expectant—joyful yet sad.  And thankful… I’m so thankful for these past four years.  We have ‘grown up’ during our time in Portland and learned so much.

In a couple months we’ll be on the east coast, out of our nicely sized home and into a tiny little apartment all cozied up to each other and far away from the rain into the snow.  We’ll be a short train ride away from New York City but 3000 miles from our friends here and family in California.  It’s crazy how in a blink of an eye, your life can change.

We’re going to miss our Portland family so much, but are excited and hopeful for the new adventure ahead.  David leaves Sunday and begins his new job next week!  Your prayers for our transition are welcomed and coveted!

New York New Jersey

 

And just like that…  We’re off again!

Two weeks ago, David was on a plane to the New York region for an interview.  We were excited at the possibility of a promotion and a new adventure, but realistic at the fact that there were four other guys interviewing and the New York region was far, far, far away.  We didn’t think too long about it.  It’s always good experience to interview, right?

We prayed.  We prayed hard, knowing that a transition like this is life changing.  Selling a home, finding a new home, leaving our church, our friends, our life/community group, raising our daughter…  The list goes on and on.  I prayed and prayed the Lord would shut it down quickly if this opportunity were not from Him.  I prayed the decision makers in New York would make the right decision for their region.  I also prayed that if this was where God was leading us that it would be obvious to the region and us and there would be no confusion.

The day of David’s interview came and as we Face-Timed on the phone that night, I learned he had eight interviews with the NY management.  I was encouraged by the sincerity the region was taking by having that many people take time out of their day to meet with the candidates.  I was hopeful that if this was not the right fit, surely eight people would see that… And vice versa.

David flew directly from the interview to San Antonio Texas (the life of a Field Traveler… Always on the run!) for another work event, so I assumed it would be towards the end of the week before he heard anything.  I continued to pray.  I halfway expected him to call and tell me he didn’t get it, but then I also expected him to say that he was chosen and we were moving.  Needless to say I just didn’t know what to expect!

That Thursday morning, while sitting at my desk at work evaluating survey questions and media placements, David called and told me he got the job.  “Oh my gosh,” I responded.  “Congratulations, I’m so happy for you!  Oh. My. Gosh.”

Since then it’s been a series of unknowns as we work out the details of moving cross-country.  I’ve always known this was the life of a field traveler’s wife…  But it all happened so fast!  I’m still agape as I think about it all.

Next week David begins our east coast adventure while I close out things here in Portland.  He’ll be working in the New York region with the same automotive company, but the office is technically in New Jersey.  We’re still uncertain where we’ll be living, but we’re pretty certain it will be on the Jersey side.  David will be working with dealers in New York state.

Thanks for taking this journey with me!  I covet your prayers as we make this transition as a new family and embark on an adventure to the east coast.

Dreaming of the Present

A few stories in our bookshelves

Stories.  They're fun to tell and interesting to hear.  The tales of loss and love and adventure. 

We all have a story.

What is mine?  I've asked myself this a few times recently and paused at my reluctant internal response.  Where are we going?  What are we doing?  What's to come?  I'm often too caught up in dreaming to sit and just be present in my life and acknowledge the story I'm living right now.

Be present and experience it.  Enjoy it.  Relish this time.

I have always been a dreamer.  When I was 12, I dreamed of making it to the Olympic Trials.  I never made it; I missed it by 1/10 of a second in the 100 breastroke.  I was bummed, but I moved on.  I dreamed of meeting a wonderful man, marrying him and starting a family.  I dreamed of having a job where I'd get to dress up and wear a suit and heels.  I dreamed of travelling to Paris, of cooking a rack of lamb, of touring South Africa, of pouring my life into a job that doesn't feel like work.  I dreamed... I dreamed...  I dream.

God put something in all of us that craves something more.  I think that's why we dream-- we're made for so much more than what this life on earth can give us.  Even so, we are here-- and I need to remember to be fully present in my day, my marriage, my life.

This past weekend David was in extreme pain due to an abscessed tooth.  He was on vicodin and antibiotics and was actually a little loopy.  He's so cute when he's loopy.  Anyway, because of his tooth situation we laid low and stayed home most of the weekend.  We painted cabinets, watched movies, cooked lemon soup and cauliflower casserole (easy things on his tooth), cleaned out the closet...  We just spent time together without distractions.  As we curled up in covers before we drifted off to sleep, we commented on how nice it is to just be sometimes.  To stay home.  To clean closets. :)  To be fully present for each other.  I think his quote was "staying home is so underrated."  Point taken!

I'm in a resting season of life currently.  As I rest, I want to be awake and fully aware of what I'm enjoying.  I have an opportunity right now to teach myself to be present for the people and purpose my life envelopes rather than busy-ing myself with more, more, and more.  I think this is why I'm drawn to Project Simplify.  Less. Is. More.

I have a story.  And I am going to be present and enjoy experiencing it.

What story are you living now?  How will you simplify your life so you can enjoy and experience the present part of your story?

Summer

Oh sweet summer, how I love you.

Summer is definitely my favorite time of year. Since I moved to the northwest, I especially love summer because the days last so darn long. In the middle of July the sun will go down just before 10 p.m. and it stays WARM all night. It is delightful, and I love it.

Summer also means that people come to visit, or we leave to go on trips. Just last weekend Jake and Beth, my bro and sis came to visit us. I was sooo honored to have them come up. The fact that they bought plane tickets and took time off of work to come up and see David and me spoke volumes to my heart. There are few people in the world that know you like your siblings do. This weekend was just so special to me, to have the two people who I've shared pretty much my entire life with hang out and just share time together was so sweet. I cherished every moment of it; because the older we get I know the fewer and fewer of these moments we'll share. Summer brings those special kind of times.

Summer also means it's David's birthday. Oh yes, this year he turned 29!!! He said it was the last birthday he'll ever have. :) To celebrate, we had a wine tasting party at our house. It was so much fun. We had all the field travellers over, and friends from church, and Jake and Beth. Everyone brought over a bottle of wine, and Beth bagged it so we couldn't see the label. After tasting a bunch of the wine, we voted on our favorite. It was a blast! But hands down the funniest part of the evening was the birthday cake. Oh David. Only David would ask for a BANANA BRAN cake. There is no recipe for this... People make banana bran bread, or banana bran muffins, but not banana bran CAKE! And four layers no less. Yes, the man asked for a four layered, banana bran cake with cream cheese icing. So what did the field traveller's wife do?! She made it! And it was hilarious, because it was just so David. Only David. Yes, Summer means it's David's birthday... And this year it will be remembered by wine tasting and banana bran cake.

All in all, it has been an amazing summer. Sweet, special time with family, celebrations, bike rides, farmer's markets, berries, wine... Now that David and I are our own little family we get to make summer mean something new to us. If it means banana bran cake and wine, then that's ok with me...

Busy

Being busy. Isn't it annoying that everyone around us is always busy?! It's like we are all so important with so many crazy cool things to do that we are in a constant state of busy-ness. I hate this. Are we really that important that we are always "too busy" or jammed packed full?! Unfortunately yours truly is the worst culprit of this. At work I have "too much" going on to stop and connect with the people I work with-- the people who I spend the most of my waking hours with. That is just not right! If I spend 40 hours with these people I should be investing in relationship with them, but no, I am too busy.

My husband often gets the tail end of my attention during the work week because I am so busy with the house and emails and trying to organize my life to sit and have a non-multiple-tasking conversation with him while he's away. What is wrong with this picture? My husband calls to spend time with me, even though it is conversation time and not face to face, it is still time he is taking from his day to communicate and connect to me. And still I am just "so busy".

Tonight a friend of mine came over because the gals from church were going to get together for cooking and movies, two of my favorite things! I had cancelled because I'm leaving for a work trip tomorrow and my flight leaves at 6 am, and I haven't packed or gotten any of the laundry done or exercised or blah blah blah (there I go again being busy!!!). Needless to say I forgot to tell her the gals weren't coming over and felt really bad when she showed up. She was so gracious and of course was super sweet and didn't make me feel bad, but I felt awful. Since when did I become so busy that I forgot about telling a friend something important? Normally I'd say I need a vacation! I'm just too busy! But this got me to thinking... I don't need a vacation. I need to make a choice. I need to choose to be disciplined in my time. This goes for spending time with my husband, time with Jesus and time with people. I walk around like I'm so important and that's why I'm so busy but in reality i have chosen this for myself. I have made myself this busy, and I need to choose if this is how I want to spend my time.

Time is so precious... Let's not waste it being busy.