My husband & I were both born & raised in Michigan. We always just assumed we'd never leave! But, life tends to have different plans for us than we'd ever expect. :)
In 2008, we were preparing to have our long awaited first child (together -- I have 2 older step children, they were 13 & 17 when our oldest was born). My dream was to quit my long time job & become a SAHM. But, 6 weeks before his due date -- Rob was laid off! Panic set in! I attempted to mentally prepare myself for leaving my precious miracle (we had two losses & a long road of infertility before finally conceiving) & returning to work. Something neither of us wanted.
And then, Rob managed to find a great job 2 weeks after our sons birth! It was such a relief!!!!! My Mom was in town for the birth & stayed with us for 2 weeks after to help so she actually managed to get the phone call on video! We were sitting at a Big Boy & I sobbed with relief (it was also my first time breast feeding in public - big trip to big boy! lol). And this is a very rare thing for me -- I'm not a big cryer! She laughed that she managed to capture that moment. I blame hormones, lol
So, time went on & my maternity leave was up. I went into the office & resigned from my position at a company I had been with for 10 years! It was terrifying but felt fantastic at the same time. Until I received a mid afternoon call from Rob a few weeks later that he'd been laid off again.
We struggled for 8+ months before he finally found another position. The job market in Michigan was HORRIBLE!! But, we managed to get by. I exclusively breast fed our baby for his entire first year of life & we cloth diapered. So, he wasn't too costly! :) And we had paid off both our vehicles & saved a little money before I quit for a 'rainy day' .... we never anticipated that rainy day would be so immediate!
When he finally received an offer, we were ecstatic!!!! It was a low paying entry level mechanic job on the afternoon shift at a garbage company. Way below his skills but, we didn't have room to be picky. The mortgage needed paid & we still had child support for his older children. Oh man, I can still remember how awful he'd smell after work during that time! But, he did what needed to be done to support our family. Around that time, we decided him going back to college to get his bachelor degree would be a wise investment!
About a year later, they wanted to promote him to management. Only catch, the job was in Ohio! We decided given our current situation, the only thing keeping us in Michigan was our family & friends. Our finances were still a disaster. The hardest spot was leaving his older children. They were teenagers though, hardly came around anymore because they were busy with their own lives (way more involved in this topic but I'm not getting into it right now). So, we decided to go for it! To look at the opportunity as an adventure & if it didn't work out, we could always come home.
That first move from Michigan to Ohio was a *nightmare* to put it mildly, lol We moved in freezing cold snowy January. The relocation package was pretty crummy. We chose to self move & take the cash (it wasn't anywhere near enough to pay for movers) so family & friends helped. I had just found out I was pregnant with our 'second' (didn't know it was twins yet) baby so I was sidelined from heavy lifting (previous history). I told my brother & my Dad so they could step in for me. We barely decluttered before packing! So we took along WAY too much crap! lol But, we did it!! With so much help but it got done. :)
Then we moved within Ohio because our first house was owned by a nightmare property management company. So, 1 year after moving, we were doing it again! Only 5 miles away that time though. Turns out, I'm way better at planning long distance moves! Again, we moved in January! With the help of family. Multiple trips back & forth (mind you, I was on bedrest for 3+ months during the twins pregnancy AND we had a 3 year old & 3 month old twins! so, no decluttering happened) during a blizzard. The new rental was perfect for us & the landlord was amazing!! We planned on never leaving! Remember what I said about life & plans?
There was a big to-do with Robs job, things didn't go according to plan & he found himself looking again (legalities -- I can't go into further detail. Mysterious, right? lol). Scary! We now had 3 sons, lived in a state where we'd made some friends but we had no family! Which also meant no ties so we could go anywhere in the world.
This time, he was armed with his newly earned his bachelor degree! And that made a world of difference! He had tons of interest & interviews. He finally accepted a position in New York (after a pre planned vacation to St Thomas, VI to celebrate his finishing school!).
He went ahead to New York while the boys & I hung back to pack up. This move the relocation package was way better. We packed & movers hauled it away. Still a TON of work but we weeded out a lot of the junk on this move. We were buying a house that was much smaller (the nearly 13 acres made up for the smaller house!) so we had to get rid of a ton! Rob lived in a tiny street side apartment while he worked so we rarely visited. Quick trips (6 hour drive one way!) to house hunt but that was all we could handle. The rest of the time he drove back to Ohio on weekends.
Things were going great, he liked his job well enough, the area was ok. We joined the local homeschool co-op, we were getting adjusted & making plans for our future homestead. When.......
A headhunter contacted him about an opportunity. Rob figured it couldn't hurt to talk & long story short, he ended up with an offer! In Pennsylvania, lol At first, they said the job was in Ohio near where we'd been previously.
We went back & forth this time. He was happy enough, we had just bought a house (literally, 6 months prior!) but the new area had more opportunities for the boys, the company had more opportunities for him & we would be closer to home! So, once again..... we went for it! This time, the relocation package was even better! Movers to pack & load plus assistance with buying/selling and a furnished apartment to fit us all.
We had TWO WEEKS to pack up the clutter of the house, finish up projects we'd started (we had the floors replaced when we moved in & the base trim was all off so they were pretty extensive projects!) with the boys help. :-O But, we did it! Me & the boys went along this time because we had to have the house show ready at all times. Luckily, our house sold within a week of hitting the market with only 1 showing. Intense! We still have to close on that house though so the story hasn't ended yet. Hopefully next week!
It was SO difficult to find a house in Pennsylvania because their market is insane right now but we managed! We had 2 separate bidding wars -- lost the first house but won the second! The second is way more fitting for us. 'Everything happens for a reason'. :) We're scheduled to close on that one mid June. Hoping it goes down as planned. We're all so done with apartment living & I'm sure our neighbors are, too! 3 busy children aren't the greatest neighbors! We've already had 1 visit from the neighbors below asking us to stop jumping on his mothers head all the time. Eek!
I'll update when we finally get settled!
I have to add, mid afternoon calls still terrify me. Rob called last week just to say 'I love you' which is just the sweetest! But, my mind went straight to terror that something awful had happened again. Maybe one day that will stop happening? I guess it's better to stay on my toes so I'm ok with the little pit of fear.
Here are some fun pictures he's sent while he's in NY for the pack & load (we decided it'd be easiest for me & the boys to hang in PA instead of going along):
A shot of my overloaded camper packing job -- I used it as storage while showing the house. There was way more, Rob said the movers were impressed by my skills & asked if I wanted a job, lol
And here's the overloaded garage -- it was FREEZING while we frantically prepped the house for sale so we didn't even get to touch this area. Yikes!
And here's a shot of the inside of the house after the movers packed up.
Poor guy has no room to move, lol
Here's something I will NOT miss!!!! We lived on just shy of 13 wooded acres with a stream running through it. So. Many. Mice. He sent this, mouse poop on the kitchen counter from the time he went to sleep until morning. Icccccckkkkk! Mice freak me OUT!!! And, we try to live a very naturally, green, organic, whatever you want to call a low chemical life. But for those suckers? We employ an exterminator!
Hoping they'll be done tomorrow! We head to Michigan on Friday to spend Mother's Day weekend with family. :) It will sadly be our first occasion without his Dad (he passed suddenly & very unexpected in February of 2014).
