“Oh, excuse me. So sorry.” – TC-14, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace
I’ve been riding the job search and homeschooling-in-the-midst-of-the-unknown rollar coaster with Dad Windu and Padawan Learner these past couple of months, and, while it’s been going pretty well, it’s had its ups and downs. That’s the biggest reason this place has been so quiet. I’m driving 6 white horses, coming around the mountain, and – what the song doesn’t mention - there’s this cliff on the other side of the path that’s making me hug the mountain more than I’m used to. So homeschooling is keeping on, keeping on and going well. Marriage is going well. Blogging (my release and often-times entertainment), not so much.
At one point we thought we were going to be moving to almost the very northern-most tip of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. In case you don’t know where that is, it’s waaaay the h*ll up there (technical term) and surrounded by Lake Superior on three sides. Average high of 78 F (25C) in July and 16 F (-9C) in January. 208 inches (528 cm) of snow a year on average. I know! There are two seasons up there, if you ask a local - ”winter’s here and winter’s coming.”
Yes, we were pretty sure we were going to be moving there after DW met with the group leader in the company’s Detroit-area office. Couldn’t have asked for a more encouraging guy. The group leader in the UP though, not so encouraging. Not being ‘a local’ was apparently a big point against DW; the two interviewers spent most of the meeting basically trying to talk him OUT of wanting the job. “No shopping to speak of up here.” “Winters are long and hard, so you can’t try to just wait them out.” “Everything’s a long way from here, so traveling other places doesn’t happen very often.” “We don’t have furniture stores to speak of.” You get the picture.
Meanwhile, while he’s in his interview, I was scraping the local librarian’s brain clean about local homeschooling resources and groups and variety. I was getting more and more excited about the homeschooling opportunities in the immediate area. Oh, and have I mentioned that we found the cutest little house – with a cast-iron circular staircase connecting the main and upper floors – for $27,700? No, I didn’t leave a zero out. For approximately the same price of a new car, we could have owned a 2 bedroom, 2 bath home that was as cute as a button. (Just shoot me now). I was getting geared up and ready to go.
Just to make things interesting, of course, the reality of an impending move really hit Padawan Learner up there and … well, it wasn’t pretty. I’ll just leave it at that.
In the end, DW got a FOAD letter in the mail from the UP leader – as vague as can be, of course. The Detroit guy is disgusted. DW is confused and thinking, “WTF was that all about?” PL is feeling bad for DW but also guilty about feeling relieved that we’re not moving – yet. I’m exhausted about putting so much mental effort into finding ways to make sure this transition goes smoothly – for naught.
*deep breathing*
And now we’re hopping back on the maybe this is it train. Dad Windu and I are headed out into the heart of the great frozen midwest this weekend. (PL is staying with friends.) We’re quietly optimistic, but (truthbetold) we’re afraid to get our hopes up too high. There’s been a lot of “Oh, I’m just doing a little Internet surfing” digging by me. It’s what I do. The job appears to be a good fit for DW and the city looks like we’d be comfortable there.
So, happy thoughts everyone. *fairy dust, fairy dust* We’re going to need them.
