As I was digesting the reality that we would be moving that summer, it was a scary yet exciting feeling. I haven't ventured far from the homeland in my lifetime and have never lived in another city from Shreveport for longer than three months (this was when I worked in Virginia for a summer during college). However, I was excited that to some extent, this was completely out of our control. We would rank our top choices of programs but those choices had to match up with the programs that ranked us at the top of their list. As one who always has to have a plan and has to have control over a situation, this was completely out of my comfort zone. But I liked it and I was anxious to see where we would end up!
It was always our plan to move together as a family wherever Adam matched. It was only a year so I had planned on taking a leave of absence from work and just pick back up where we left off in Shreveport when we came back a year later. I was relieved that the interviews ended up in the Southeastern region of the United States for the most part so that we could at least be in driving distances to our families. The match day for internships was February 22. As that day approached, we waited anxiously to see if Adam matched and where we were going. On Monday, the 21st, we got notification that he had matched to a program. Whew! Ok, so we knew we were going somewhere...
On the morning of February 22, we both woke up very easily and immediately ran to the computer where we were to receive email notification of where he matched. It was our luck that our Internet chose not to work correctly that morning so after multiple failed attempts to get online and much frustration, we decided to try to pull up the email on my cell phone. Thankfully it was successful and we held our breath to see what plan awaited us...
We had matched to the Mississippi State Hospital in Jackson, MS! We were excited about this new chapter in our lives and what was even more exciting was that it was right between Shreveport and Mobile...perfect traveling distance to both of our families! I immediately started researching things about Jackson...places to live, places for Thomas to go to school, jobs, churches...
That night, we were getting together with our friends and family to have a "great reveal" of where we had matched. My creative juices were still a-flowing from Valentine's Day so I created this sign to put in the middle of the table for our friends and family to see when they walked in.
The only thing left to attach was the city where we were going. Here's the finished product ready to be viewed at dinner.
We had a great evening with family and friends celebrating this exciting day. We were ready to begin this new adventure in our lives!
Let's fast-forward to April. Another surprise was in store for us!
We found out we were pregnant with Baby #2, due in December! While we were so excited, it came as a bit of a surprise to us and threw our "plans" all out of whack for the upcoming year. Initially, our decision was to continue as planned with moving all together to Jackson. As the end of the school year came upon us, it became evident that this may not be the best decision for us. I explored job opportunities in Jackson and none of them could compete with my job situation in Shreveport, with my maternity leave benefits, etc. Thus we then needed to entertain the possibility of spending the year of Adam's internship apart. Thomas and I would stay in Shreveport and live with my parents, who would be able to help out with the kids, and Adam would live in Jackson. We would travel to either Shreveport or Jackson every weekend to see each other, and after I had our baby, Thomas, baby and I would go to Jackson and spend the majority of my maternity leave there. We would also plan to spend the summer months in Jackson together as a family when I got out of school. While this decision was very hard and many discussions and tears were shed over this, we decided that it would be best for me and Thomas to stay in Shreveport. As I've said before, I believe that life takes us on paths that are sometimes unexpected but I also believe that they are always for good with Faith and Trust. We knew that whatever decision we made, it would be difficult at times. However, we also knew that our love for our family was very strong and we trusted in God's plan for us and we would come out of this whole experience stronger and better!
It's been six months since Adam's been over in Jackson and we both agree that this arrangement, our "situation" as we call it, hasn't been that bad. We are so thankful that we've been able to spend every weekend together either in Jackson or in Shreveport. Plus, Adam was able to be here for Evan's birth and got to spend a good week with us once we came home from the hospital. Plus, we are about to head over to Jackson to spend a couple of months together while I'm on maternity leave. We feel like we've gotten through the hardest part and we're proud of ourselves for that! An added bonus is that Adam loves his internship and is learning so much with it...he's going to be the best psychologist around when this is all said and done!
The path that life takes you on can be filled with twists and turns. However, if you throw your hands up and give it all to the One in charge, (a daily struggle for me!) your path can also be filled with fabulous opportunities and sweet blessings...and we're loving every minute of it!
1 comment:
Amen, V! It's nice to sit back and enjoy the ride (aka... leaving it in God's hands).
Post a Comment