Moving To A New Zip Code

This east coast girl trying west coast living will soon find herself back on the east coast- Pittsburgh to be exact. Joe and I started having discussions about the possibility of moving back to PA back in the Spring. Of course I had to make a "plan" of our time line, where to look for jobs, and how the summer was going to pan out for us. So far nothing has been going as planned and those of you that know me know that I don't handle "nonplans" very well. I had hoped to have a job by the end of the school year so that I could say my goodbyes in person to the school staff and my kids. Although I had an initial phone interview with Children's Hospital right before Memorial Day weekend, I didn't hear back from them for three weeks. Fast forward to the last week of school and I get an e-mail asking if I'd be available for a teleconference interview. I wasn't sure what teleconference was going to entail at first but after another week and a half I found out that I would be interviewing with the head of the department and another Speech Therapist via Skype. How technology advanced we have come to be able to interview across the country using the computer and a webcam. I will admit to going into frantic study mode and had flashbacks of grad school sitting in a coffee shop with my books. There are a few areas that I'm out of touch with after working in the school setting for 5 years and was fearful that I would be bombarded with questions regarding these less familiar topics. During my study time I came across the name of the person who was interviewing me quoted in one of the books. He's done a lot of research in the field and has published articles regarding his areas of interest. The intimidation factor went way up for me at this point!
I felt really good after the interview- they were both so nice and I felt very at ease despite the distance and technology between us. That afternoon I was contact by human resources to let me know that I was their top candidate and would now begin the phase of background and reference checking. This was done through private agencies and I was told to expect it to at least take 6 days. Adding in the 4th of July weekend, 6 days had turned into 8. By this point I'm stressed and wondering what the outcome will be. We gave up our apartment since our lease is up at the end of the month, but we still weren't sure if we were moving cross country or just down the street. Throughout the waiting period I did lots of list making, pacing, climbing a mountain (7 miles up windy and rocky switch backs can do a lot to take your mind off of things), freaking out, and buying shoes. Yes I couldn't help myself when I went to buy bubble wrap at Target and a big SALE sign in the window of DSW caught my eye. I went in just to "look" but fell in love with a pair of sandals. I decided to buy them as a celebratory "yay I got the job" a few days premature. And if I didn't get the job I was going to use them as a "feel better" present to myself. I'm glad they were able to fall into their first purpose.
The long awaited phone call and offer came on Friday. Yay! I've been feeling such a mix of emotions- nerves on starting a new job, excitement, and some sadness for leaving the city that we have fallen in love with. We have no regrets from the past two years and have gained some wonderful friends and new experiences to add to our list of adventures and memories. But we are at the point (well I'm at the point and Joe is getting there :-) where we want to feel a bit more settled and know that we will be staying in one place longer than the date signed on a lease. We weren't ready to make this commitment two years ago but time and maturity and desire for new things were a driving force in our decision. Of course the proximity to family and friends and familiar surroundings are huge icings on the cake and we couldn't be happier with our decision. Thank you all for taking this journey with us over the past two years and for being my weekly "audience" following this blog. I'll continue with a few more entries of our moving experiences but then may take a little writing hiatus- I haven't quite decided yet what to do.
In the mean time, we are surrounded by boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap with our possessions spread out in our 800 square foot apartment waiting to find their way into boxes. Poor Nala isn't quite sure what to make of everything but has found comfort in the open boxes as resting places for her afternoon and evening naps. We will have the company from two years ago as Joe's sisters once again are joining us on our trip. We are leaving Seattle on July 31st and are giving ourselves about a week to make it across the country. We will be covering a lot of the same territory as before and feel less inclined to stop and see the sights. I start my new job on August 16th. Changes are ahead once again.......Western Pennsylvania here we come. Time to bring out the black and gold!