In the little bit that I did share on social media over the last
year-and-a-half, I was not shy in being transparent about our rocky transition
to Columbus. While we quickly fell in love with the city, moving
nearly 2,000 miles from every soul that we knew — and without a job lined up
for Josh — made for a profoundly stressful season for our family.
For Josh and I, much of the last year-and-a-half has been spent
mourning what we expected this phase of life to look like. From the moment we
decided that I’d pursue graduate school, we anticipated moving to Washington or
Oregon. We were devastated when I ended up waitlisted at both schools in the
Pacific Northwest. Similarly, we had high hopes that Josh would have a job
lined up before we arrived in Columbus, which also didn’t pan out. For well
over a year, Josh worked tirelessly to complete 30-plus job applications to no
avail. The waiting process was disheartening for both of us. While Josh
remained supportive of me, I wrestled with guilt, feeling as though I put our
family in this vulnerable, scary position.
For whatever reason — likely because I find polished and
perfect off-putting and unrelatable — it comes much
more naturally for me to share about our sorrows than our joys. But in an
attempt to be better about reflecting on and telling about the blessings and
answered prayers we’ve received, I’ve forced myself to recall what our
experience has been like as we’ve rounded the corner entering year two of this
adventure. While still full of obstacles, the last few months have certainly
taken a turn for us, and I want to remember what it’s been like to journey into
a season filled with even just a little more solace.
In
March, we began looking for a bigger place to rent as we’d long outgrown a
600-square-foot apartment and didn’t love its location. In the course of a few
weeks, we looked at several places and submitted nearly a dozen applications.
Places don’t last in the particular neighborhood we hoped to be in, which makes
the application process stressful and urgent. Seeing that our lease was up in
two months and we’d have to commit to another year if we didn’t have a place
lined up by then, I was starting to feel discouraged.
Then,
without further ado, some friends from our small group at church approached us
about renting their house, as they’d decided to move to D.C. I could feel
things taking a turn for us, and it was such a relief.
We
happily said farewell to our apartment the first week in May, exactly one year
after arriving to Columbus. This house has been such an incredible blessing to
our family. The perfect location has allowed us to conveniently bike-commute to
campus and has given us space to host others in a way that our hearts have
longed to for years. Not a day goes by that I don’t feel overwhelmed with
gratefulness that we get to call this place our home.
Two
weeks later, Josh landed his first serious job interview in Columbus. It was
with Ohio State. I remember him telling me that he had given up applying to
positions with the university because of how tedious their applications are and
the fact that they weren’t communicative throughout the application process.
That, and we’d been told by many that it’s nearly impossible to land a job at
the university without connections, which of course, we didn’t have. But much
to our surprise, one afternoon he received an email offering him an interview
for a marketing position he’d applied for months earlier. A week later, a
similar email rolled in with a different department inviting him for an
interview as well.
Both
interviews went well, and Josh knew he’d landed one of the positions. He’s
always been very optimistic, but even in the 10 years I’ve been with him, I’ve
never seen him exude this level of confidence and peace. Admittedly, I wasn’t
so sure. I knew he was perfectly qualified and deserving, but I didn’t want to
get my hopes up.
Roughly
two weeks later he was offered one of the positions — a content specialist with
the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State. That semester, I was on a
rotation at the psychiatric hospital where I’m not supposed to have my phone on
me. But knowing the interviewees were calling to inform him of their decision
that afternoon, I snuck my phone onto the floor and hid in the bathroom crying
when he texted me that they offered him the job. I believe that God was just as
good, faithful and loving during our time spent underemployed in a crappy
apartment as He is now, and it’s been wonderful to see Him so generously
sustain us with more than we could have imagined.
After
that, our summer was complete chaos: The weekend after we moved in, Dawson
developed pneumonia, which required brief hospital treatment. My schooling
continued, summer semester proving to be the most disorganized yet. Josh began
work, and between his full-time job at Ohio State and his part-time gig at The
Columbus Dispatch, he put in 65- to 70-hour weeks and had only a few of days
off from the start of June to the end of August. I was a complete wreck and we
were incredibly thankful that my mom agreed to come help us out for a bit in
July. I truly can’t put into words how difficult it is for us to be away from
family. Josh’s schedule isn’t quite as demanding now; he still works 55-hour
weeks, which is more than I’d prefer but it feels mostly manageable, depending
on the week.
Months
before anything with the job or house transpired, we had been looking into
preschool for Dawson. He was waitlisted at a few highly recommended local
facilities, and when I called to check his status, I was informed that a spot
would likely not come open for him for over a year. By coincidence, I stumbled
upon another preschool in our area. This one was Jesus-centered, and I loved
the idea of Dawson having a spiritual foundation to his school days. We toured
the facility, met the faculty and filled the last spot they had open, which was
only part-time. We began sorting out who would care for Dawson during the time
he wasn’t at preschool.
But before we’d even finalized the additional childcare, a
full-time spot came open for him at one of the original schools we’d applied
for. I was floored. This opportunity would simplify our lives so much and has
proven to be the perfect fit for him and for us. My eyes well up with tears of
gratitude when I think about how much of a blessing this place has been. We are
in love with the creative curriculum, as well as the emphasis on independence
and body autonomy. Plus, they offer “Spirit Space”— an extra program where
Dawson has the opportunity to learn about God’s love and creation.
These two loveys request a picture
together every morning:
To
our surprise, the first three weeks of preschool were a rough transition for
Dawson. He’s always been very flexible and social, but initially he didn’t
engage much with other kids, did not look forward to going to school and
regressed in potty training. Since the transition phase has passed, he’s done
very well. His vocabulary has expanded even more. He’s learned how to
articulate physical and emotional needs, which makes parenting a lot easier.
While still exhausting and demanding, my experience with Dawson being 3 has
overall been so much more fun. He is such a character and always keeps us
laughing.
And now here we are: I’m less than a month out from
completing the first half of the program and sitting for nursing boards.
Sixteen credits this fall has kept me plenty busy to put it mildly. For years,
the nursing portion of this journey has been an intimidating barrier, so it
feels, quite literally, unbelievable that I’m this close to finishing it. The
last 18 months have been such a wild ride filled with debilitating anxiety,
waves of depression, and more stress than I’ve experienced at any other time in
my life. This experience has taken my faith to new heights and depths as I
have experienced more of God’s unconditional love and endless grace. It’s also led
me back into therapy for the first time in eight years. I’ve had the painful
pleasure of unexpectedly diving head first into personal growth where I’ve
bloomed into an entirely different person than I was when we arrived in
Columbus. Someday I’ll write more about that, hopefully in a more formal manner
than just a blog post.
Thank
you for keeping up with our family. I don’t anticipate being able to write here
often but I always love the encouragement we receive when I do have the time to
share.
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