The Last Day of 2011.....and many other Coffee Ponderings

Happy New Year!  Another beautiful morning looking out my patio door to the East.  The weather will turn a bit blustery later on in the day and overnight.  Another difference between NW and Central Iowa is what is perceived as WIND.  We are under a wind advisory for "gusts of 35 MPH".  In NW Iowa that was a typical day.  Which brings up my theme today -- PERSPECTIVE.

When 2011 started this past year, there was a bit of a fracture. A conflict if you will of my personal and my professional life.

In the Fall of 2010, I had a personal experience that I can't even describe, but it gave me complete perspective on many parts of my life, especially personal and professional.  I was so very fortunate to be a part of something that was ground breaking and will forever affect me the rest of my life.  It was a combination of spiritual and physical healing.

Upon returning to NW Iowa, I realized that 90% of the puzzle pieces were put together.  The other 10% were scattered and fractured and I needed to take charge in either fixing it or changing it.  The process began.  My eyes were open to possible employment opportunities.  And as God would have it (and I really believe this entire process was driven by a higher power), there was a job opening still working with victims of crime, but it required a significant move.  If this were going to work, Curtis and I both needed to be on board.  Probably the most surprising part of this was his willingness to look at something new.  Particularly, since it would be a decrease in pay for me.  (In the middle of a two year debt reduction process, I was going to take a pay cut?)  I THANK him for that.  He could have decided that he didn't want to do this and we would have had A LOT of discussion about that, but he was on board right away. (THANK YOU!)

But just because there was an opening didn't mean that I was going to get it.  So the hat was thrown in the ring and the "winds of change" began.  I got the job, notice at CAASA was given (I had been there a total of 13 years), a rental was secured (again a faith moment - friends needed a renter, we needed a space), and my job began.  This was the end of April.  But this was just the beginning.  Curtis needed to find employment, we needed to sell our house, our kids were trying to figure out what this meant for them, and I quickly realized the process was just beginning.

Now throw in, moving away from my BEST FRIEND IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.  Not just my best friend, but a sister to me.  She was part of that incredible experience in Fall of 2010 and I THANK her for sharing that with me.  We are bonded forever because of it.  We are so alike (yet different - like most sisters) that our families don't like to play Apples-to-Apples with us because we always win - we know what each other is thinking.  When I lived in Spencer we would see each other every day.  Her family is so incredibly important to me and I think THAT has been the hardest transition.  (I got a recent fix over Christmas and it just made me realize how much I am missing out with all of them and hope to have a plan to increase my "time" spent with them - thinkin' weekly SKYPE appointments!).  FAMILY (biological or not) is so very important.

In the middle of this transition, we had two different "vacations" planned.  My hubby teaches classes to First Responders across the country.  He teaches them how to deal with the media in crisis situations.  Now this usually takes him to very rural parts of the country in Texas, Tennessee, and various other parts that I have really no interest in seeing (remember I grew up in SW Iowa -- Hillbilly Central was part of my life for 18 years - I don't need to see that any more).  But every once in a while he will get a venue that I want to attend as well.  There were two of those this year.

Diamondback rattlesnake hiding from us when hiking

Chase Field Scoreboard

The first one was Tucson, Arizona.  I fell in love with Arizona when we ventured to Phoenix a few years ago for Curtis' 'real' job and traveled to Sedona and Jerome (my favorite town in Arizona - if you have NetFlix, I encourage you to watch BLOOD AND WINE.  Is the story of the former lead singer of TOOL starting a winery in the mountain town of Jerome and tells its amazing history.  THAT COULD BE FOR ANOTHER BLOG POST).  But Phoenix and Tucson are like NIGHT and DAY.  I fell in love with Tucson.  You don't realize how fortunate we are in the Midwest during the economic crisis until you travel to places that were hit VERY hard - like Tucson.  PERSPECTIVE MOMENT!  We stayed downtown and many building are sitting empty, real estate has tanked, and many people have NO work.  In spite of that, the town itself is beautiful and there seems to be a resilience.  I made the comment right away that I will retire there.  (SEE FINANCIAL GOALS that I talked about earlier)  The best part of the trip was attending a Diamondback vs Cardinals baseball game at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.  It sparked my interest in baseball again.  And little did we know, they would make the playoffs and win the World Series.  And my Cards won that game against the Diamondbacks pretty EASILY!

Our second trip of the year in the middle of this transition was HAWAII.  A once in a lifetime trip to an amazing place.  He taught two classes there so we got to stay extra time on the big island.  We stayed in a hotel on Waikiki beach.  I don't have the words in me to describe this experience and awesome X 12 doesn't really do it.  And because I am a closet socialist, I think that every person that gets married should be able to apply to a government program that allows them to experience this place at least once in their lifetime.  One of my favorite experiences was getting in the rental car and driving to the North Shore.  Watching the waves, experiencing the scenery, eating the fresh seafood -- it all was surreal at times.  That is why we MUST go back!  But I think my FAVORITE was going to see Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial.  I am not a huge history buff, but it was very moving and amazing.  My proposed government program will have this as one of the "requirements".  :)

USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor

So back to the "move".  We interjected those two trips in the middle of this transition.  While most people would have thought that created more stress, it actually helped to reduce it quite a bit.  The next process was to SELL THE SPENCER HOUSE.  We had garage sales EVERY weekend in the month of May and part of June.  We sold ALL of our furniture and most of our housewares.  Down sizing is something we all need to do every five years or so.  It was very cleansing.  Getting the house ready for sale was probably the most stressful and hardest.  My words of advice for this part - DON'T DELAY DOING HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS FOR THE FUTURE.  We have done that the last 10 years.  And quickly realized that because of that we had to spend lots of money to sell this house.  Carpet, flooring, paint, new bathroom -- it all added up.  But the MOST POSITIVE UP SIDE -- our house sold 4 days after we listed it.  Again, another faith moment for us.

In the middle of that, Curtis got two job offers.  Both of them were for things that he really wanted to do.  So again, faith/fate.  At this time, I have lived in Ankeny since the end of April by myself and going back to Spencer every weekend to prepare a house for sale, garage sales, and bringing load after load of personal items when I came back.  Curtis made the move the first of July.  He started his new job right after July 4 and STILL LOVES IT. :)  Another PERSPECTIVE moment because I was living by myself and now he and the two dogs were upsetting my routine.  WHAT?  But I quickly realized that I missed them all and we settled in....kind of.

We quickly became aware that a two bedroom town house was not going to work for us.  We didn't have enough "personal space" for each other.  So we started house hunting.  Now keep in mind that I have only purchased one house in my entire life.  And I don't remember that it was a process that took a long time.  Of course, that was in Spencer and the choices were not as numerous as they were in the Des Moines Metro area.  We had a very, very (did I say VERY) patient Realtor.  Erika was so amazing and so helpful.  We gave her a total of about 20 houses to look at and not a single one of them gave me the "WOW" factor in my gut that I was looking for.  Then, she said.....how about we look at this one?  The second I walked in the door, I knew that we were home.  A FAITH MOMENT?  I think so once again.  The last of the things that we needed to get done to make this transition complete.

Now.....2011 wasn't just about our move and trials and tribulations.

I will be a mother-in-law after September 2.  Kara and Chris set a date.  I am so excited for them.  They have worked really hard to make a life for themselves and am beyond proud of my son who has become an amazing man!   And I look forward to getting to know my new daughter even better.




Bailey moved to Ankeny, started at DMACC, works for the local UPS Store (has developed GUNS - her words not mine) and is looking to transfer when she graduates from DMACC.  That process will be resolved soon hopefully.

Jordan is still in Spencer, working at a job he loves and involved in the Occupy Movement.  I am proud that he is energized about a cause and hope that he doesn't get jaded by the process.

I think that 2012 will be an adventurous year as well.  There are still many "new" things on the horizon for us this year.  We have started the process of becoming re-aquainted with old friends from central Iowa.  I start school in 10 days.  Curtis' dance business is expanding (a bit slower than he wants) and he is booking across most of the state now since he has 2 and now 2 more partners to work with.  One of my friends is getting married in June and I hope to go across country and celebrate with her.  So stay tuned, humor me by reading this blog, and enjoy the many blessings that we all have!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE DEANS!