Last week Joshua turned 15. He celebrated his day by feasting on his favorite foods, going to an arcade, and then playing soccer with the family. It was a low key day. That seems to be the theme this year with our birthdays.
We are closing in on our first year here. Bob has already been here a year, but the kids and I still have a couple of weeks yet before we reach that milestone. I don't know how much longer we will have in Portland, but I am trying very hard to make the most of it and take the best of what this part of the country has to offer while we still live here. I have definitely learned this year that different parts of the country feel more like home to me than others, but that there is still goodness and beauty and adventure to be gleaned from those places that feel less like home.
There were times this past year, most especially in the last 4-6 months, where Bob and I both wondered if we were doing the right thing by moving around the country and exposing our kids to the different experiences they have had. Would it just be better for them to move back to Ohio and to give up this adventure? Would the kids be happier? Would life be easier? We talked about these questions over and over and couldn't find an answer that felt right to either of us. We were closer than we have ever been at throwing in the towel and just settling back down in the Midwest despite the career consequences that would be incurred all in the name of making the kids lives a bit easier and more comfortable.
But then I went to the beach on Mother's Day. I spent the whole day at the ocean all by myself and it was amazing. I sat on the beach and just poured my heart out in my journal and to God. And I came back from the beach that day knowing that we were on the right path. If we had stayed in Ohio we would have never, ever experienced the things we have. We would have never been to the Grand Canyon, Salt Lake City, Boise, New Mexico, Phoenix, Carlsbad Cavern, etc...We would have never met the amazing people that we have met along this journey. My kids have met (as have Bob and I) all different kinds of people from all different walks of life. The diversity we have been exposed to is eye opening and so very, very cool. So, yes, we are on the right path. We are going to stay on this journey even if it is really hard sometimes. And here's the thing - if we had stayed and never left Ohio - it would still have been hard because I would always have wondered what else was out there in this vast country we live in. I would have always had an ache to explore.
In the light of all of this I knew that we needed a new start because this last year has been incredibly difficult for us all in different ways at different times. Since we haven't been transferred yet for Bob's next job assignment I decided to look into the floor plans and options that we had available to us in our current townhouse community. After the kids and I toured all of our options we chose a new townhouse to rent for the next year. We moved ourselves over Memorial Day weekend and are settled down into a home that has a much more functional floor plan for our family and is in a location that is surrounded by kids. I love it here. In our last two moves Bob has always chosen the house we were going to live in. He sought out my input of course, but I never went and physically toured any of the properties. This was a mistake as I can see positive and negative things about a space because my home is where I am at most of the time. I know what our family needs to function optimally. It is hard to get the feel of a space just through pictures, and although Bob did an outstanding job based on what resources and tools he had to pick out our last two homes, I have decided that from now on I will be going with him to pick out our family home since the kids and I spend so much time in it. I just have a more detailed and critical eye than he does when it comes to homemaking - as I should since I am here all of the time and he is at work a lot of the time.
It's funny how moving just around the corner can change one's entire perspective. I feel like I am in a community of people instead of being on the outside. (Our old townhouse was the last building in the complex and we were the end unit so we really didn't have too many neighbors with their being only 4 townhouses per building.) Bob and I both think the location is perfect for us to be able to make it through the rest of our time in the Portland area with a little bit more ease.
Another change is that Josh has found a new soccer team. He waited to try out for a club team until this spring because there were so many options to choose from out here and he wanted to make the right choice. Soccer is his life and becomes our life too as we spend so much time at games, practices, tournaments, etc..that choosing the right team (and also making the cut during tryouts) is really important to us. After looking into several of the clubs and even guest playing in a few games and a tournament for another Joshua picked the club he felt he could best benefit from both in the skill of the players around him, but also the coaching. He went through tryouts and was given a roster spot. His new coach played a couple of seasons in the MLS and also a couple of other leagues that mean nothing to me, but that Josh said was pretty cool. What's even cooler is that this new coach didn't tell the boys about his prior professional experience. He's a pretty low key humble guy who knows his stuff very well and is going to make a great coach for Josh. Josh is really, really pumped about this team. After coming from such a special team in New Mexico he needed just the right team to transition to. This team appears to be the one.
My boys are heading out for a 5 week trip to Ohio tonight. They will be staying with family and friends during this time and they have been looking forward to this trip for months. It will be weird not having them here, but I know that they need the break. I am hoping that this time away will allow them to recharge their batteries and come back refreshed. These tickets have been booked for months and months they have counted down the days for a long time. The fact that it is here already is just astonishing. Hopefully, when they come back they will be ready to look at this area with fresh eyes and see it as a new beginning until we are transferred again. I am looking forward to having this time with just my girls. I am looking forward to the opportunity to focus just on them for 5 weeks.
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