We made it to Texas!
I thought it was never going to happen. I told Drew, “I
won’t believe that this job is for real until you come home from your first day
of work. Maybe.” We waited for months and months – almost a year. And this is
not some experiment with hyperbole I have here. Anyone who has worked for the
government can relate, I am sure. Drew first heard about the possibility of
this job at the end of last summer. Six months later, this past March, the job
was opened for applicants. MARCH. We
found out while on our honeymoon in JUNE that we would be making the transition
from Miami, Florida to Arlington, Texas. FINALLY! The waiting game was a major
trial of my patience; I could not understand why everything was taking so long.
Coming from the world of education, where jobs are snatched up before you can
say, “The bell doesn’t dismiss you, I dismiss you!” this whole
the-government-drags-out-the-process-to-a-painful-extent thing was all quite
new to me.
It took almost another month before we found out when Drew
would be starting his new job, and then at that point we had about a week to make
the move. Before the wedding I moved all of my things to my parents’ house in
Tampa (my wonderful, blessed parents who sacrificed their living space to let
my many, many boxes crowd their daily lives) and the things Drew had in Florida
ended up there, too. So, on the morning of my baby sister’s 17th
birthday, we jammed the cars full of the things we would need to survive two
weeks in a new city without the rest of our belongings (most importantly, we
packed our brand new cookware) and we headed out for Birmingham, Alabama, our
midway stop between Tampa and Arlington.
The journey was fun and memorable and we’ll have some great
stories to tell our kids someday (well, at least we will think they are great). Like how we had two-way radios to
talk to each other in our respective vehicles and how I sang the entirety of
Bohemian Rhapsody to cheer up Drew when he was cranky. Or how Drew misplaced
his car keys and though we entered Birmingham with two cars, we exited with
one. And how the hotels we stayed in upon our arrival were sub-par but we
managed to make them temporary homes. And how we had to move two cars worth of
stuff with only one car. Twice. And how we found and moved into a two-bedroom
apartment with more boxes of stuff than we know what to do with. And how every
time we get annoyed with each other or feel frazzled and overwhelmed, we end up
sharing laughter and hugs and a sense of relief that we are in this together.
Drew is enjoying his new job and I smile every time I get a
text that says, “We are really going to like it here. This job is great.” My
current job title is “Apartment Organizer Extraordinaire.” This is what all
that time spent rearranging my dollhouse was preparing me for, and the challenge
has been fun. Everyday our apartment starts to look more like our home and not just some borrowed
floor space. Boxes are unloaded and broken down and our belongings are reentering
our little world, although some of them are being promptly kicked out (I need
to find a donation center, ASAP). And, though I do enjoy figuring out how to
arrange all of our things, I am looking forward to the morning when I wake up
and everything is just right, even if only for a moment. And then I will
probably start moving stuff around again.
