I struggle with change. I am an over-thinker and a worrier. We found out in October that because of budget issues Drew would not be offered a full time job at Lethbridge College. I cried for weeks. I assumed it was the natural progression, once he finished his Master's, then the College would offer him a job. It was my job to check the job postings for Colleges and Universities in western Canada. We were willing to go anywhere for a full-time job, but hoping that things at the College would change. I dreaded looking at the job boards, it was depressing. It was getting into summer, and nothing that great was coming up, and we were going to plug away with a contract position at the college. Then in the last week of July, Drew got a phone call. One of the jobs that he applied for (NAIT) wanted to interview him, and a week later he was offered the job and was off to Edmonton to check things out.
It was a hard decision to leave Lethbridge. We had so much to lose - we were close to family, the kids were in a good school, Drew liked the College, we were in a good ward...But, we had so much to gain by leaving. A permanent full-time position. This is what we prayed for. So in a whirl-wind month we managed to squeeze in camping at Writing on Stone, swimming in the pool, going to Edmonton, going to Ashley Lake, and packing up our house.
There are things I am
not going to miss about the house: The mouse situation, water in the basement, the septic tank, having no water because of a broken pump, or frozen pipes, getting stuck in our driveway, and in the winter hearing the wind and worrying that we wouldn't be able to get out of the yard, and having the power go out for long periods of time. And, I don't think Drew will miss all the many, many, many hours of cutting grass.
But there are things that I will miss. This is the house where I fell in love, with both Drew and the Clark Family. This is the house where we brought Taylor home after she was born. This is the house where I brought Drew home from the hospital. This is the house where there were so many delicious meals. This is the house of making chocolates. This is the house where so many games and hands of Rook were played. This is the house where we welcomed loved ones into the family. This is the house where we said Good-Bye to loved ones. This is the house of many well-wishes as we set off for other adventures such as missions, marriage and having babies. This is the house where many Birthdays were celebrated. This is the house where countless hours were spent jumping on the trampoline, playing kick-the-can and swimming in the pool. This is the house for sleep-overs. This is the house of the annual Doug and Nola Clark Memorial Swimming Party. The house has a history. We will all be forever grateful for Doug and Nola for not just building a house, but for building a family and traditions of love and kindness.
So, here we are in a new city, in a new house, in a new school, in a new ward, with a new job, trying to figure out why we are here. When we met with our Bishop for the first time, he told us that he felt inspired to tell us that we were brought to our ward for a reason. That is a scary prospect, but I know that we are here for a reason as well. It seemed like things fell into place so easy, how could it not be right?
