This morning Cathy Lee said “you know what I like about 7ths? They make you go somewhere. You have to move forward – you can’t not have movement”. . . and I thought to myself, “I’ve been living in a 7th for a year.”

It's been over 11 months since I sent Brent off to California for the first time. I remember the weight that lifted off my shoulders when I realized that he was embarking on a chance for happiness and satisfaction in the work place. I remember the feelings of hope and gratitude. 11 long months of seeing him so little, which put us both on a journey: I began the long process of building and falling as I learned what it meant to hold up the house, the yard, our little girl, by myself. I learned the trust required when you use others to help you balance all the balls in the air. I learned how expectations alter everything, and that I needed to revise mine when our 6 months of training turned into 8, then 9, then, 10. . . . I learned that Brent and I can love through hard things. I learned I trust him, completely . . . and that I love him more than any other part of my life. To live seeing each other only a few days a month, to invest in continuous non-convenient communication and give the extra effort that is required when you live in a different house than your spouse . . . to give up your own frustrations of the lifestyle and refuse to let those emotions bleed into your precious time that you do get to see him. . . to choose the US and the HIM over all the selfish little bitties that add up to monstrosities inside of you, to walk away from them in a loving way . . . . and do it continuously for a year . . . that’s a unique experience.

This week my 7th drone moved closer towards resolution.
This week we learned that we’re moving to California.

This is how I feel:

It all happened so fast . . . months of waiting for a position to open up in Salt Lake.. . months of going SO SLOW. And then in just one week everything changed. There was a position open and Brent took the interview, just to see. I thought, "Oh, it will be good experience - because then when he interviews in Salt Lake it will feel comfortable". Like giving a dress rehearsal performance. But they loved Brent. Of coarse they loved him. And then they offered us the job and my whole world had to stop. My feet hit the ground. And 34 faces of my students passed in front of my eyes.

Lots of tears this week. But underneath it all, a peace came that always comes when you know it’s the right thing and you’re pulling on Him to help you be strong enough to do what it is you know you have to do.
There are two parts to this equation. I’m so sad to leave, but equally grateful that our long stretch is coming to an end.

I can do hard things.

Riverside, CA. Wow.