Changes

To say that there have been some changes in my life in the last month might be considered an understatement. I'm sorry for not sharing with many sooner, but there were so many details being ironed out that the timing really wasn't right.

Bottom line - We're moving....to Iowa.

Less than a week after my grandmother's funeral, my hubby received an offer to be the Community Development Director for the Village of Tipton. I was an emotional disaster, to say the least. Thanks to a very patient husband, wonderful friends, a listening ear from my mom and a pastor with down-to-earth approaches to faith, I've found my way back to only occassional crying. I hit bottom pretty hard and was in a very dark place for a few days.

John starts tomorrow and left yesterday with a truck-full of things to live in Tipton in a rental house during the week and come back to Jeremiah and I on the weekends. We'll try to live with this arrangement until the house sells or until I can't stand it anymore! Hopefully, either way it isn't a long wait! I don't know how much more of Jeremiah asking for Daddy I can take.

On a bright note, my job has agreed to test out telecommuting. I will return to campus a few times a month, as needed, but use our house in Tipton as a base office. This was a HUGE relief for me, as I wasn't looking forward to searching for a job in this not-so-lovely job market. I also appreciated having one less thing uprooted. As noted in a previous post, I don't do change well.

For those interested, Tipton is half-way between the Quad Cities and Iowa City. We'll be much closer to all the grandparents but it will likely still warrant overnights at both sides.

We hope to put the house on the market in the next few weeks. We have just a few more projects to complete before we're ready for that. Having John making the weekly trip will hopefully assist with getting some of the clutter out of our house. I'm a little nervous about getting it sold for a good price, but we'll do our best!

In regards to further changes, I finished my master's degree this past week. It was bit anti-climatic, given all the other craziness in our lives, but I'm happy to be done either way. However, I'm thinking that the "When I am done with class list" that I was keeping of various projects may be waiting a bit longer. And, now, with no homework or husband, I'm a little nervous that the evenings may be harder on me emotionally. Having homework didn't allow for time to dwell on other things.

I'm trying to take all these changes with grace and remember my own Grandmother's words that "it is all god's will," but there are also times when I just have to be who I am and deal with this in my own way. I don't need solutions or "you shoulds" from others, just an understanding that I need to be able to handle this in the best way I know how. I need for people to spend time with Jeremiah and I and call to check in, not to give advice. I have to say that JT was WONDERFUL yesterday when he told me that he would be more worried about me if I wasn't a mess as he was prepping to leave, when others were reminding me that it was a time that I should be the strong partner. He knows me so well!!

So, stay tuned for the many adventures that I'm sure are set to come our way in the months ahead!