May has been a month of anticipation. One thing I've learned from teaching Joy School so many times is that half the joy of anything comes from anticipation. And we have most definitely been anticipating around here.
Can you believe that when we moved here three years ago, we moved into this?
Have a look now.
If you see a difference on the outside, let me just tell you that the difference inside is even more dramatic--I just couldn't ever bring myself to take the "before" pictures inside because they turned my stomach too much. I remember thinking when we moved in that our house looked more or less like a trailer home that had been inhabited by a crazy cat woman. It sort of smelled that way too. Moving here was a huge leap of faith for us. Aaron's job offer was fantastic, but moving a family of six into a new country, even if that country is Canada, is a humongous undertaking. We needed passports for everyone, work permits and visas, we had to pay fees to import our vehicles (cars cost a lot more here), figure out a new tax code, figure out how to purchase property in a place with very different regulations than the US (while the housing market was going wild here and going very steeply south in the US), and cope with a loonie that was headed for par with the US dollar, even though prices here were much higher. It's been a trip, let me tell you.
Wait a second. Was that last sentence in past tense? Yup.
It was so hard to leave Cincinnati. I made Aaron swear a blood oath (not really) that after our move to Regina, I wouldn't have to move again for seven to ten years. I wanted to make friends and keep them. I wanted my kids to go to schools and have their own friends and birthday parties and, you know, security and stuff. Only then came last winter. Not last winter, but last last winter--2008-09. I'm not going through all that again (you're welcome), but it was rough and so cold that I still shiver thinking about it. And so I decided, sort of unilaterally, that maybe this wasn't the place for us after all. During the darkest months of winter, I worked my magic trying to convince Aaron to agree with me ("Oh look honey, isn't the ice on the inside of the window a pretty shape today?" "Did you see that the loonie is drifting back toward par with the dollar?"). Before long, he started dreaming about a new job and a warmer climate too. Last spring, he started sending out a CV whenever a remotely interesting job opening was posted. Meanwhile, I started a list. It had things like "interesting landscape," "not a million miles from cities we want to visit," "four seasons of interesting but not deadly weather," "no icy wind that feels like a hundred steak knives stabbing you in the face." Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little. It was actually a very specific list, with things like city size (200K-ish), proximity to major cities, greenness, sports teams that would be fun to take kids to, good libraries and parks, art museums, zoo, symphony orchestra, lower cost of living, proximity to lakes/beaches, with a preference on the midwest.
Well, requests for additional materials and phone interviews started pouring in (which was seriously an amazing blessing, as there are relatively few postings in Aaron's field in a given year), and with each one we did our research and considered the repercussions of moving our family to that location. The list got some tweaks, and we reranked some of the items on it. Ultimately, Aaron interviewed at schools all over the country, from Pepperdine to Georgia State, and at the end of it all, Aaron has accepted a position at a school that very nearly meets every single item on that very long list I started over a year ago: INDIANA-PURDUE UNIVERSITY in Fort Wayne, Indiana. There are some drawbacks to our move, mainly that Aaron has worked himself so hard to achieve early tenure here (in only three years!), and now has to start all over again in a new place, and at a lower salary. But really, we feel so good about this move for our family, and are even excited (I know this is practically impossible to believe coming from me, but it's true) to pack up and move. Of course that could be because we haven't broken out the actual boxes yet. That always makes a difference.
With all that anticipation, of a new place to live, a new house, new friends, a whole new life, really, how could it get any better? Well, maybe throw in a looming TRIP TO DISNEYLAND that we've all been saving up for since last year, and you'll know how good it's really been. The kids saved up about $400, and Aaron and I have tried to make the rest come from extra things rather than our regular savings, so we've really all been working together on this. Hopefully all that extra work will make the trip one that we all remember for a very long time. We leave tomorrow (June 1) and CAN'T WAIT!!
As for fun times this month--they were mostly stashed between home renovation projects. Addy danced in her first dance recital (and did a fantastic job even though they wouldn't let us take photos of ANY KIND--I got some of her and her friends before and after), I had a piano recital with my Miniature Mozarts piano classes (which I rarely mention here, but which I have really loved teaching this year), and we went to the parks and played outside a bunch! Emer and Sera have been so good-natured about all our hours of work. They watch Super-Why and usually a couple of other television shows in the morning (yes, this from the person who used to restrict screen time to three hours a week and still really wants to do that, but the logistics are not working out so well), then play downstairs while we work, mostly without poking their fingers into paint and things. Lots of Lego creations get made every day, and they can spend hours on end laying atop our bar stools and spinning themselves dizzy while playing such favorite games as "yes/no" (one says "yes" and the other says "no" over and over and over again and they laugh hysterically), and "oh faithfully" (they sing the words "oh faithfully" over and over again on adjacent minor thirds-- I have no idea why the words are "oh faithfully," but Emer and Sera consider it their first legitimate musical composition).
Theo and Addy are busy busy at school, which they both really love this year. I can't credit their fantastic teachers enough. I think having a great time in school has really softened the impact of having such upheaval at home all the time as we move furniture around, declare various parts of the house off-limits for days and weeks, don't stay consistent on things like chores and practicing, and don't have friends over for play-dates. I can't overstate my gratitude for these great teachers this year, and I better have my act together to get pictures of the kids with them this year (note to self)!
We're looking ahead to a fun few weeks, a busy few weeks, and then a big move--so much to anticipate . . . so much joy! Okay, see ya post-Disneyland!
Miniature Mozarts piano recital (rehearsal--they dressed all cute for the real thing and I forgot to take a picture!) I've LOVED teaching these wonderful kids!
This kid is only 8 for a few more days!
Apparently, Emerson has NOT inherited his brother's love of monkey bars
Really? This is what they pick to do when we go to the playground? Maybe we live too far from the beach . . .
Good lookin' dad riding Theo's bike
Shooting some hoops--Theo's getting pretty good!
Emer's very best buddy, Caleb
And Sera's favorite playmate, Willow
Scooting down the street
Sera wishes she could ride her tricycle every hour of every day
Addy has become quite the bike-rider--look at that form!
Emer and Addy planting something in our garden--hopefully we didn't throw it away when it sprouted a few days later . . . but we probably did. Seriously though, we're going to have a garden in our next place!
This kid is only 8 for a few more days!
Apparently, Emerson has NOT inherited his brother's love of monkey bars
Really? This is what they pick to do when we go to the playground? Maybe we live too far from the beach . . .
Good lookin' dad riding Theo's bike
Shooting some hoops--Theo's getting pretty good!
Emer's very best buddy, Caleb
And Sera's favorite playmate, Willow
Scooting down the street
Sera wishes she could ride her tricycle every hour of every day
Addy has become quite the bike-rider--look at that form!
Emer and Addy planting something in our garden--hopefully we didn't throw it away when it sprouted a few days later . . . but we probably did. Seriously though, we're going to have a garden in our next place!