The Big Move (Fresno Factoids, con't.)

So, back when I wrote Fresno Factoids, I promised to continue the story. It's been awhile. Sorry.

So, as Toph's asthma got worse and air quality days got more numerous, I decided it was probably TIME to consider moving away. I gave Robert the green light, and he started looking around. He worked for the water department of the City of Fresno, and conditions at his work were deteriorating, so it was good timing all around. I had some specific conditions: it had to be someplace with better air; it had to be someplace with decent weather (not too hot, not too cold), he had to go to stable employment with good health insurance.

So Robert and I talked about various jobs and places, and he applied for a job in Atlanta (I LOVED the people there--wasn't sure about the humidity though). He applied for a job in Texas (wow, we could have sold our home in Fresno and bought a bigger house there for CASH), and he applied for a job with Sony in San Diego. I laughed when he told me that and told my dear hubby that the interview would be good experience, but we could never move to San Diego. We could never afford to live in San Diego--GREAT weather and location, but I wasn't holding my breath.

Well, Texas didn't want to hire someone from out of state and I don't remember what happened with Atlanta. Robert came down to San Diego for an interview and said that they were taking him to lunch too. So at 2 pm when I hadn't heard, I was getting antsy. At 4, I could hardly contain myself. I left numerous voicemail messages (like, "surely you have had to use the bathroom while you're there, couldn't you spare a MINUTE to call?!"). It was interesting when Robert was preparing to go to his interview, because I was misinformed in college. ALL of our job interview seminars stressed wearing your BEST and dressing to impress when going for an interview--even to hand in an application (yes, this was in the day when you actually used your legs to pound the pavement). Apparently, for an IT job, if you show up in a suit, you WON'T get hired?! Crazy! Well, some time passed while things were getting worked out--seemed like ages to me. Then we FINALLY heard: San Diego wanted Robert! Not only did they want him, but they were willing to pay a salary that we could live with (nope, we're not getting RICH, but we can afford to buy food--at least this week). They were also willing to pay for our relocation--that was another of my "requirements."

I was floored. Then we found out that they wanted him to start work on October 1--in 4 weeks! We had 25 days in which to pack up our lives and relocate--and get our house up for sale and wrap up all the loose ends. That was CRAZY! We'd lived in our house for 9 years, so we'd accumulated a LOT of stuff. Just thinking about packing all of it up was enough to make you crazy. I initially thought I would stay until the house sold, and then we thought about it. We were going to be moving during one of the WORST times of an asthma year--so why would I want to be a single parent and try to sell the house while living in it? Sony was paying for temporary housing, regardless of if it was for 1 person or for 4 people, so we listened to reason and we all moved together and trusted our house to sell "naked."

I was CRAZY worried about our house NOT selling in 3 months. I was so afraid we'd have to figure out how to pay a mortgage AND rent. But we put our trust in higher hands and started packing the stuff we needed to go to the "homeless shelter." Yes, I called our corporate housing adventure the HOMELESS SHELTER. We were technically homeless and it was our shelter, and if you can't keep your sense of humor, you will lose it!

We called a Realtor, cleaned up what we could, painted walls and welcomed the moving crew. It's AMAZING how fast those guys could pack up 10 years' worth of stuff! Since we had such a SHORT time, we basically didn't have the luxury of going through the stuff and getting rid of a bunch of it. We HAD to focus our efforts on getting our house ready to sell. I'm sure the moving guys thought we were crazy as they packed boxes and boxes of crap--but it all came with us!

We arrived in San Diego LATE on a Friday night at the end of September--and it was FOGGY! Our Homeless Shelter was fairly nice. We had (at the time) some nice neighbors. It was a "fully furnished" unit--but we learned that "fully furnished" to one is not "fully furnished" another. We had wine glasses and a coffee maker and a naked picture on the wall--not exactly what an LDS family with YOUNG kids needs! The relocation people were GREAT though. They switched out the naked picture and promptly replaced a DVD player that died. They were Johnny on the spot for any concern we had.

Our greatest challenge was trying to get Toph started in school. You see, schools require TWO proofs of residency, and we had NO bills--the Homeless Shelter paid for rent, phone, internet, Dish, and everything. All I had to offer was my renter's insurance paper.

At the time, and even more so in retrospect, we KNOW that San Diego is where we're supposed to be. EVERY aspect of our move just SCREAMED of a loving Heavenly Father's hand. We had tons of help to move. We didn't have to initially worry about where we were living. We were able to save some money for 3 months. We were able to sell our home--in a STAGNANT market--in just 21 days. We were able to find a NICE place to rent. We were able to be in 2 great wards at Church. We live in a GREAT school district. And, best of all, ROBERT LOVES HIS JOB! Who can doubt that we had some Heavenly help?

At the time I cried TONS of tears. I was mourning leaving the only place I'd known as "home" and the people I'd miss. I was TERRIFIED of being able to find my way around. You see, I'm quite directionally challenged. I HATE moving--so it was very traumatic. Robert, being the kind soul that he is, asked numerous times if I had changed my mind (he'd have stayed). No, I just had some "growing" pains.

The folks here have been amazing! Robert LOVED his new job SO much, he even looked younger. His job with the City of Fresno was good work, but it was beyond stressful. He was on call basically 24/7, and in the summer months (May through September or later), the pager was relentless. He'd work 18-hour days, sometimes 6 days a week. And if he made a mistake, he could have KILLED people. Lots of stress. And we discovered that Government work, while steady employment, fosters an acceptance of "minimal effort is great." That's not in Robert's nature. He was starting to need to be around more geeks. Being "the guy" was getting old, and the help desk calls were making him CRAZY! At Sony, he's in a team of at least 9 other geeks. He's surrounded by geeks. There are more opportunities for learning and more people to learn from. His superior is also in the field and "gets it." He's in a place where he can really thrive and improve his "mad skills." And if he makes a mistake, the worst that can happen is that folks can't play games online. Nobody dies. I can live with that. He'd come home from work so HAPPY. I hadn't seen that in a few years. Sure, life with the family would cause Robert happiness, but work-related stuff was always looming in the background. Now he actually looks forward to going to work. And, even after almost 2 years, I still have to call him each evening to remind him to come home.

In all aspects this has been a good move for our family. Sure, we miss PEOPLE, but Fresno doesn't feel like HOME any more. When we go back to visit, it feels like a VISIT--which is entirely strange to me. We've adapted quite nicely to San Diego weather and air, and to quote Hannah, "we always get sick when we go to Fresno." Unfortunately that HAS been our experience more often than not. HOPEFULLY not this next trip! But we're closer as a family and we're all growing together. It's nice. Distance also helps us appreciate the time we DO get to spend with loved ones.

So, now we're here, and we plan on staying!