FAQ

This is a brief post to answer a few "frequently asked questions."

1. We are most likely moving to Dallas, TX, or thereabouts. If I had to put a percentage on it, I'd say it's slightly north of 90%.

2. Perhaps most importantly, our next child will indeed help us carry on our tradition of having a baby in each state we live in. Personally, I hope that Dallas will be our last stop, but if Jenny has her way, I guess we're looking at two more moves!

3. We don't know when we are moving. The realtor came over yesterday to inspect the house. The market outlook is bleak, but she was encouraging. We will know more about when we will move depending on when the house sells. There's a chance we may be a family apart for a while.

4. I will hopefully be taking the Texas bar in July. Luckily I've been well trained in a few federal practice areas, which means that I can practice some federal law in Texas until my Texas license kicks in.

5. Will we miss Cleveland?

Jenny will.

For the most part, Cleveland has not been the most pleasant experience for me. Besides the job toxicity, the weather is horrible, the taxes are high, and the roads are poorly maintained (and while I'm at it, does anyone know why they don't use reflective paint to stripe the roads??? When it rains, I have no idea what lane I'm in!).

Aside from all that, we truly treasured the opportunity to live near Kirtland and get in touch with that era of church history. We've learned a lot. We've also grown to really love the people in our ward. There are some amazing hearts, minds, and helping hands. My guess is that if we were leaving Baghdad, we'd feel the same regret over losing such great people. At the same time, being students most of our married career, we've left and seen leave great people before; I'm sure the next stop will have some equally amazing spirits.

6. Many have asked how Jenny feels about moving to Texas. I'm sure she would appreciate the opportunity to answer for herself, but I'd like to publish her honest feelings before she has a chance to delete mine and replace them with a more political answer:

She doesn't like it. Facially, there are many things to like about Texas (according to her). She will like the part where the state doesn't tax the air you breathe. The schools are pretty good. People are nice. She can see major sporting events (seriously, Jenny says this. She thoroughly enjoyed going to see the Indians and Cavs while we were here, and I'm pretty sure she thinks LeBron James is hot). And the cost of living is relatively low.

But you know those prideful Texans. It bothers Jenny that Texas flags adorn every building and logo. I'm not sure why, but it does. And going to Texas is in some way giving in. But I'm grateful she has such an open mind.

7. Finally, we get asked a lot about how our parents feel about our move, both leaving Jenny's parents and getting closer to mine. In general, I'm sure that both would rather us be closer. But both sets of parents are supportive, and want what's best. As long as we're close to a major airport, I don't think either would have too much of a problem should we decide to move again in a few years.

February 18, 2009

Cut day.

Cleveland was dank this Wednesday. I drove the entire 9-mile potholed commute into work thinking about the ominous weather. I knew that this commute was likely my last.

On Tuesday I received an email requesting a meeting for me to meet with the partner-in-charge of my firm's Ohio offices. The work had been slow, and was getting slower. Once it became clear that the workload lull might very well turn into the new status quo, I knew that jobs at work would have to be eliminated.

And on Wednesday, mine was.

The firm responded to this economic crisis by dropping over 30 people. Good people. I'm sure the decision was difficult for those who made it, but that hardly eases the pain.

Fortunately Jenny and I saw this coming. We had already started putting out feelers several months ago back home in Texas. Additionally,--and I don't want to disparage my firm in any way--I was far from happy at work. I had already decided that professional growth would have to come from a new opportunity outside the firm, so my resume had already graced a few eyes before being told to update it on Wednesday.

Despite having already decided to leave, there's still a sense of disappointment at not being able to do it entirely on my own terms. I wanted that preemptive strike. But that hardly matters now.

From here we will, along with half of Cleveland, put our house on the market. We will go back to Texas (where Jenny has been DYING to go for ages), and seek opportunities there. Most likely it will be Dallas.

Last Saturday the Welch's were kind enough to watch our children (on V-day, no less) so that Jenny and I could go have lunch. While Jenny was eating the ice cream dessert we were supposed to be sharing, I told her that I had a spiritual prompting that this would be my last week at work. She accepted it. From that point forward we began to make plans for our next move.

I truly believe that this same spirit is guiding us now. We've felt its presence in our hearts, and in our friends' kind words and deeds. Perhaps I'm overly existential, but this will be one of those stories we tell our kids about how bad things happen so that greater things can come our way.

In the meantime, we are excited about the work we have ahead of ourselves.

The things kids say

Logan, the teenager

This morning as we were getting ready for church Logan, our 5 year old, gave us a sneak preview of a decade hence by asking me bluntly, "Dad, why don't you know anything?"

Madison, the nurse

We gave Jeff Beachum a ride home following church. In the van, Madison took it upon herself to educate him: "Boys have penises."

Grant, the magician

Since Grant can't speak, he has to find other ways to communicate. He's developed a superb disappearing magic trick. He hides the first joint of his index finger deep in his nostril. All the time. He thinks that's the coolest thing since mom and dad left an open bag of chocolate chips out.

The third child.

So the kids and I (Jenny) went to my folks' place in PA for the weekend, which meant I had to be the driver and mediator for the children. We headed home after church, and I conveniently forgot to put a movie in the portable DVD player we use to keep the children quiet during longer drives. It is Sunday, after all. Instead we decided to sing Primary songs, read books, and talk. As expected, Grant, who sits between Madison and Logan, fell asleep almost immediately. Madison was next, then Logan, although the older two children woke up about an hour later. We then sang songs and talked. Then they began to play. Their voices got louder and louder. Then toys started to get passed back and forth--over Grant, of course. Then I heard things like, "Don't touch him." And, "Oops, sorry baby." I kept warning them not to wake Grant. Then I started to worry. Why wasn't he waking up? Was he ok? They were noisy. And touching him. And then I worried that maybe the blanket I had put on him was actually covering his head and he couldn't breathe. So I asked Logan to move the blanket. That, too, got passed back and forth. I became more worried and asked Logan if Grant was ok. "Yeah, mom." I was starting to really worry. So I actually reached back to see if I could feel him breathing. Yep, he's fine. It's amazing what a third child can sleep through.