Perhaps you didn't get to read it...

I sent out this four page nonsense with most of our Christmas cards this year.  Considering some of the content in the newsletter are happenings I never got around to covering on the blog, I felt that perhaps I should include my nonsensical rambling blog-style.  Of course, I remembered things I left out, after I mailed them all, but such is life. I did do a few edits for the blog version, as I felt some personal information can stay, well, personal.

~*The Gift of Change*~

Is it really that time of year to start addressing my annual newsletter again? Really?  Oh, all right.  Fine.

Dear Family and Friends (and anyone else willing to read this),

       I honestly don’t even know where to begin.  First, it’s too early for this.  Second, where do I begin? So much has happened.  I can’t even put the experience of this year into words.  But for you, I will try.  I will.  I’ll do it for you.  But only for you.  Just this once.

      Our year started off in January, like everybody else’s.  I was slowly making a comeback from being sick.  Work was finally slowing down just a bit, I still kept busy as the PTO secretary, and Rob had a couple business trips scheduled.  Thanks to our beautiful Baileysitter Laurie, he could fly to Phoenix while I continued to work nights, and Bailey was in perfect hands.  Our thirteen year old feline, Aerial, died in early February, the day of the school carnival I was assisting with.  It was the saddest day, but she hadn’t been healthy since the day we brought her to our apartment all those years ago.  After countless strokes and other health issues, somehow she lived that long.  At some point we found out Rob had passed his CEM certification.  I switched departments and loved climbing stairs all night again.  (Yes, I’m serious.)  Next thing you know, Rob was in contact with two companies, one in Austin, another in Sacramento, and the whirlwind began.  By late February, he was in a serious discussion with a Sacramento company. 

      In mid-March, we met Rob’s parents in Ormond Beach, Florida for spring break.  They flew in from Phoenix and we drove down from Kansas.  We spent some time at Universal Studios, namely the Harry Potter park, as our redhead had been diligently reading the books and had become quite the fan.  We also had some fabulous beach time, saw lots of dolphins, went down to Blue Spring State Park and saw manatees and an alligator, and managed to find time for geocaching.  The drive back from Florida was the interesting part as it was snowing in the Midwest.  It worsened near Springfield, and continued to become a problem.  There were a few scary moments, but Rob got us safely home.  And I never wanted to drive to Florida ever again.

      Within a couple weeks, that drive would not be an issue, as Rob took a position with a company based in Sacramento, which meant we would all be moving to California.  Rob gave his company his notice, and within two and a half weeks, he started his job in Sacramento, towards the end of April.  While he lived his life in an extended stay hotel, I continued to work (mostly for sanity and a distraction), Laurie stayed with Bailey, and we depended on Skype a lot.  Meanwhile, Rob was house hunting in the Sacramento area.  And even though no one ever believed me, I trusted him explicitly with this task.  As long as it was in the right school district and had two bathrooms, it would be fine.  He had that in writing.  At some point, Bailey and I participated in a color craze 5k, benefiting her afterschool program.  By late May, it was time for me to quit my job.  I loved my job, and I was sad to leave, but it was time to focus on getting the house ready for our tenant, and most importantly, packing. 

      Unfortunately, within just a couple days of quitting my job, Bailey had a fever.  That fever turned into pneumonia as well as a marathon fever.  She had a fever for over three weeks, two of those weeks it was an average of 103.7.  (Yes, I did the math.)  During this time, Rob flew back briefly for Bailey’s early birthday party, her Egyptian/adventured-themed bash set early so we could celebrate in Kansas before we left for the bigger adventure.  Unfortunately, Bailey was still sick, but she was a trooper. (Her doctor did not believe she was contagious.)  Her sitter surprised her with the best gift ever- she had contacted Bailey’s favorite band (the only music she listens to), a local Harry Potter parody band named The 8th Horcrux.  They played a thirty minute set for her and her friends.  It was amazing and she was in shock.  And for a moment, all of us forgot she had been sick.  We dealt with an allergic reaction to medicine the very next day and never did find out what caused the illness in the first place.  Being sick was quite hard on her physically and emotionally.  She missed out on sleepovers, all but one of her softball games, field trips, a Royals game, movies, and any other last minute things we were going to do before we left. Her fever ended right in time for Rob to fly back to Kansas in order for all of us to move.

      We frantically worked on the house, a decade worth of repairs, ordered new carpeting to be installed after we left (which we’ve never seen), Rob put in new doors with his father’s help, wonderful friends assisted us in cleaning and packing, we threw out countless items (some I’m still occasionally bitter over), and we managed to get as much of our lives in a Packrat storage container as humanly possible.  Finally, by June 30, days later than planned, we headed out at 10 at night, packed to the brim in our red Honda Fit along with our 125 pound Newfoundland, the mixed breed mop, and whatever else we could get inside.  Our adventure covered a multitude of locations- Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and of course, California.  The dogs did amazingly well.  We thought our little dog would be a problem, as she has never liked being in the car, but she loved being curled up in my lap, along for the ride.

       Somewhere in Utah, my car started sounding different.  I knew right away something was wrong, and suddenly the air conditioning stopped.  Then the noise sounded serious.  Fortunately we were able to stop at a casino town on the border of Nevada and Utah.  Unfortunately, we also discovered that my compressor was done.  We spent three nights in a hotel, one that luckily allowed our dogs.  (Honestly, it was nice to have a break in the hotel, just resting after all that chaos.)  We were lucky to have found a mechanic right next to the hotel who was able to get parts ordered and install the compressor right away, as well as brakes, even during a holiday week.  Unfortunately, he wasn’t comfortable recharging the air conditioner, so we had to continue the drive through the July desert without a/c. 

      Finally, by noon on the Fourth of July, we made it safely to Sacramento.  For the first time, Bailey and I saw the house Rob had bought, a four bedroom, two bath house in an established neighborhood, right down the street from the elementary school, just as I had hoped he could find.  It looked like all that hard work of moving was finally paying off.  The very next day, our little dog Fudge managed to lock Bailey and me out of the house while we were running errands, a door we didn’t have a key for.  A day after that, Bailey insisted on getting our newest family member, Alexandra, a furry, bushytailed kitten with loads of personality and the strangest noises.  We also lived over two weeks without the majority of our belongings, including furniture, but we managed, surprisingly well.

       We celebrated Bailey’s ninth birthday on the shore, something we never could have done in Kansas.  She started fourth grade on the 15^th of August.  The schools are far different here. The hallways are all outside, there are 33 students in her classroom, they don’t have a gymnasium, or music, or lockers, and their school days run from 8-2:30pm on MTWF.  On Thursdays, they get out at 1:15. We’re slowly adjusting, but so far, it has been worth it.  She has made new friends, still avidly reading (even after finishing the entire Harry Potter series), and striving in school by leaps and bounds.  In late August, shortly after the start of the school year, Bailey fell from the monkey bars at school.  She ended up breaking her left wrist, the hand she writes with.  Fortunately, the cast came off in early October, and her wrist healed nicely.   We had our fourth annual Halloween party here at the new house with several little Monster High fans.  We’ve gotten to know some neighbors and we’ve even had some play dates.

       It has only rained a few times since moving here, fall is a much different season, and the plants vary a lot.  Our street is lined with the strangest combination of trees- oaks, maples, palm trees, orange trees, and cypress.  We have a backyard full of roses thanks to the eighty year old lady who had sold the house to us.  She had been the first and only owner (the house was built in 1962), and many of the rose bushes are older than I am.  We’ve also been slowly adding our own touches.  We still have numerous projects and wallpaper to work on, but we’ve managed to get working light switches and ceiling fans in almost all of the rooms now, bought new furniture, painted a few rooms, and it’s beginning to look a lot like our home. 

       I’m not currently working, as Rob had hoped.  Neither one of us were sure how that would go, as I love working.  I loved my job.  But I also love that we can have dinners as a family again, I can walk Bailey to school everyday, I finally have time for projects without watching the clock every second, and I’m finally seeing my family more than just on the weekends.  I even like being awake during the day.  I love being able to bake again.  Overall, we’re all happy. 

      Rob loves his new company.  We’ve been exploring our new surroundings.  It’s nice being in the suburbs again.  Fifteen minutes is a far drive!  It’s much different than Kansas, where I drove at least thirty minutes to get to anywhere.  And here, we’re closer to the mountains and the ocean.  We’re a little over an hour from Lake Tahoe, and an hour and a half from San Francisco.  It’s truly a beautiful place to live. 

      For a person who is not fond of change, this year has been a complete shock to my brain.  But, I still like adventures, and this has most certainly been one.  If you’re ever interested in coming for a visit, we do have a guestroom.  You can also read about our adventures, if you wish, as I have sort of started blogging at EvolutionfromKansas.blogspot.com.  I’m also on Facebook and my e-mail address remains the same one from the last fourteen years.  I even accept texts now (but at my same Kansas phone number), as I finally ditched my dinosaur phone in August after years of boycotting.  Yes, that’s right.  I finally caved…to an IPhone.  I’m telling you, this year has been about change.

We’re hoping everyone else has had an equally blessed year, with perhaps, not as many changes.  But if you too have had an adventurous year, we hope you enjoyed the challenges as well.  Happy Holidays!

With love and joy.