I really doubt I'm going to get very far on this post this morning. But I figure, I have to start somewhere. I have the rare luxury of only having 1 child awake & having already consumed 2 cups of coffee. So, with cheerios on his tray to distract Nathan, I will attempt to catch you up on the last 2 & 1/2 months (ok, he's already crying...so this may be the super fast version).
Right after I wrote my post about home, community, roots etc., Paul got a job offer in Redding, CA & we decided to move our growing family to nearby Chico. The night we first considered this possibility, neither of us slept (both kids up now...super super fast version on its way!). We had long since ruled out the possibility of living in Chico after attempting to find a suitable job for Paul in Butte county for some time. And then out of the blue, Paul hears that the Supervisor of the Redding office for the agency for which he works, wants to talk to him about transferring. That night, we lay in bed dreaming about free babysitting, people to hang out with on a Saturday night, familiar (non-chain) restaurants & affordable homes with yards. Within a matter of 2 weeks, it was a surreal reality & we were in Chico house-hunting with a real estate agent. We drove around Chico assessing houses & the pros & cons of various neighborhoods with none of the ambivalence we felt about Sacramento. It makes me wonder if ambivalence, in general, is a sign to stop & reassess. But at the time we were considering Sacramento, it seemed there were no other options. Still, perhaps our ambivalence was telling us to wait; wait until a better alternative appeared.
Three days later, without reservation, we put in an offer on a house on the north end of Chico.
By the way, while we were house-hunting, Isa was having a blast playing at Nana & Grandad's & cousin Santiago's house & of course with Uncle Josh & Aunt Sara's pet bunny, Valentine. It was clear: Isa was "home" already. Nathan slept contentedly in the car while we viewed homes...must have been the chico sunshine lulling him into slumber. For whatever reason, when your kids are happy, it feels like everything will be ok.
The next 4 weeks were a whirlwind. Our offer on the house was accepted, we started packing our rental in Concord & Paul started his new position in Redding on October 1st. We stayed at my parents house during the weekdays while Paul worked & then traveled back to Concord to tie up loose ends on the weekends. By mid-October, all of our stuff was in storage in Chico & we had made my parent's house our temporary home in Chico while we waited for our house to close escrow.
We're still waiting to close on our house, but hoping to see that happen this Friday. Then, we'll paint the new place from top to bottom, put in new floors & move in around December 4th. The journey to find a place to put down roots will have ended & we will begin tending to the soil. Moving to Chico feels like starting from a seedling as opposed to a seed. We have much to be thankful for in terms of people we are connected to & places attached to significant points in our history (my & Paul's first kiss was in Chico after all).
I wish it were as easy to recount the thoughts, feelings & emotions of coming "home" as it is to recall the events & to-do-lists that were formed along the way. That is a gentle reminder to myself to write in the moment, not 2 months after its passed:) But alas, some things, as important as they are, have to wait. I'm grateful that my kids have adjusted well to their new diggs (even though we are about to introduce them to another in a few weeks) & that Paul is happily adjusted to the pace of life in Redding/Chico as opposed to the Bay Area. He says that the Northstate reminds him of home in Minnesota much more than he ever anticipated that it would. No one would believe that California & Minnesota could have much of anything in common...but I guess it does. We're proof, since we are now both calling Chico home.
