Moving News

On Friday, (22 February), we got the long-awaited news--our transfer to the Orlando office was approved! Thomas and I had actually been considering withdrawing our names. The uncertainty was killing me! But, minutes after we discussed it, my boss called me into her office to tell me the move was happening. I had just told the kids to stop asking for updates. "Did you hear anything about Florida," was the first thing the girls would say every day when I walked in the door. For weeks this went on, until finally I asked them to stop. It was frustrating to wait for news. We were told on January 17, that it would take a week or two to figure out. We were told a week or two again around January 31 and then again on February 21. Since I had just told them the day before it was going to be another week or two, no one asked when I came home on the 22nd. Which was good, because I don't think I could have kept it a secret if they had asked!

But, I wanted to tell them as a family. So, we waited for Thomas to come home. Fortunately, it was a Friday, which means he came home slightly earlier than a regular day. Anna, Kara, and Luke were thrilled. They promptly started jumping around and planning out a video for their YouTube Channel. They were literally screaming in the streets. At the other end of the spectrum, Jack ran up to his room crying. I felt terrible! I moved to Florida around their age and still remember feeling so sad and upset, and those feelings lasted for years. I definitely preferred Massachusetts to Florida and now I am forcing the same move on Jack. However, the factors are significantly different. We were moving from family when I was a kid, now we are moving to family. I think that is the important distinction. Hopefully, I am setting the example for my kids that if given the chance, you live near your aging parents :)

While we knew we were going to Florida, the timeline was still up in the air. The kids (well, three of them) really wanted to move in the middle of the school year, but since school gets out in May in Orlando, that was going to be difficult. Anna wanted to try and make a few friends before middle school and I think Kara just wanted to be the new kid in the class. But, at a minimum, we felt they needed a month in the new school. So, we needed to go by the end of April to make that work. Fortunately, Thomas' boss alleviated some of the pressure by asking him to stay until mid-May. With that news, we asked to stay until school here got out. I think the timeline is approved, but we still have to meet on Monday to have a final discussion. The folks in Orlando are very short-handed and we told them we would move as soon as we could, but that was in January when we had an extra 5 weeks to plan. And, we don't think moving in May makes sense. We can't enroll the kids in school for 2 weeks. And, if we have to stay here, it makes sense to let them finish the school year in Maryland.  Hopefully, everyone understands. I think it is a good thing. It gives us time to get everything together and J & A will get to participate in their 5th grade graduation.

We met with a Realtor and will be listing the house at the end of March. In the meantime, we have lots to do. We have already donated bags of clothes, games, movies and books. We are taking it in small pieces, otherwise it is just too overwhelming.

And to give you an idea of what we are dealing with. Here is the second load of books we dropped off to the library for their annual book sale. There was one previous load and we still have at least one box still to go.

So, that's where we stand. We are moving to Florida. Hopefully in June.