Wow! So much going on in your household.
Hold tight, time will pass fast. If you ever need a time to talk, just give me a call or send a text, and I'll call ya. Been married to the military until 2 years ago, so not having DH at home was for many years, longest apart was almost 2 years, so I kinda know how you feel.
And the move for a job is always a huge decision. I guess you draw up the good and bad score board, and then decide. 6 hours drive is still less than a day to get home. You'll still be close to the border, and well, I assume the weather will be somewhat the same. My nephew's wife is from Canada, and now lives in the US. She visits family for a few weeks over the year, and it's a much longer ride than you would have. Sending good thoughts that the family decision is not too hard and will be the best for both of you. Hugs.
HeHe, little Violet being the hell raiser. A girl, of course! And lucky Dash lets you cuddle. My cats, when I was younger, never let us cuddle with them. Pick them up, and carry them, but never snuggle. Bed hog was one of them though, but always after you were sound asleep.
Thanks Lynne
. You military wives deserve a special place in heaven.....here I am, bemoaning the fact that he is away for 5 weeks but I still (should) get to see him on weekends. You and the other spouses go months or years on end and still trundle along. I don't know how you do it.
Violet's newest trick is to take the screen from the drain in the bathtub and bat it around the main floor of the house. She also managed to "accidentally" knock poor dash off the side of the tub while I was showering this morning right smack-dab into the water from the shower. Poor little devil got a direct soaking and looked like a drowned rat. That wee miss is definitely the one to watch.....sweet face or not!! LOL
Oh, and did I mention she ripped my tablecloth from the table 8 TIMES before I left for work this morning?
Wow, so many changes and a lot for you to think about! It isnt nice having to work away on a regular basis, especialy when its unexpected. About 10 years ago my DH was away 3 nights a week for a while and I was at home with 3 pre schoolers, who like your kittens were at least a good distraction from missing him! We had just moved away from my family as well which was hard at first but now so many years down the line we are all kind of adjusted to it.
Good luck with your decision, it is unsettling though having so much to consider!
Thank you
. The indecision is what I am finding the hardest. I'm the kind of girl who like to develop a plan and carry it out. I said to Steve tonight, I don't care what the decision is but I just want a decision either way. This "are we, or are we not?" is a killer. We plan to go out for a nice dinner this weekend to see if we can come to a final conclusion on what we should do.
Wow - what a huge opportunity for you and Steve. Are you a list maker? Maybe a big pro's and con's list will help you sort out some of the decision? I know for me that I absolutely hate change, so something like this would turn my hair gray with trying to make a decision.
And I will now officially stop complaining about the crazy shifts that Tony works. I don't think I could stand being away from him for the majority of the week. But, you can watch all the girlie TV shows you want, hold the remote and have ice cream for dinner without worrying about strange looks from Steve!
I made that list in my head ALL NIGHT LONG last night. Not much sleeping but lots of mulling over the pros and cons. I'm like you....I like predictability and familiarity. Yet at the same time, I'm a firm believe that God sometimes puts opportunities in front of us for a reason, and its up to us to embrace them rather than run from them.
I didn't have ice cream for dinner, but I did have a coffee and two smile cookies from Tim Hortons
. Oh, and a reheated piece of left-over pizza. I feel like I'm a college student
.
Gina you need to stop booking holidays - everything starts happening as you are nearing your going away date!!
Well what an opportunity, and decision, for you and Steve. He might need to take you with him to see how the land lays (and stop you spending all that free time on the Dis and thinking of little extras to add yo your plans). I know you will have plenty to mull over, and wish you luck with that. You certainly have a lot going on
I was hoping that the last few weeks before our trip would pass by quickly, but this kind of excitement was certainly not what I had in mind
.
I am hoping to maybe go up later next week to get a tour of the area......his company actually suggested that I join him for a few days to explore the community and meet some of the folks he would be working with. I have being doing some research on places to live, and have shortlisted a few properties that look like they'd be a good fit for us (we'd be looking more for a condo than a house). The plan would be to check out a few of those a the same time, if he decides he wants to accept the job.
That is a lot to process right now. I know I posted a lot about how hard it was the year dd went away for school and my husband was living in his work city Monday to Friday. We did that for a month shy of two years and it was very very hard. An end date is always a good thing so that you can muddle through the lonely weeks, knowing it won't be permanent. I'm glad you have the trips to look forward to as well. A bright spot to focus on when it's tough.
I have no good advice on the offer ..only because I don't know what we would do either! We considered moving to DH's work town which is only 3 hours from family, but we ultimately chose to stay put. A large part of that decision was ds being so tied to this community and not wanting to uproot him. If it were just dh and I , I'm think we would have moved.. maybe? I learned a lot over those two years what HOME means to us. It might mean something different to you.. but wherever it is, that's where you will end up. Home might simply be with Steve wherever he is. Or maybe it's the community you are in now with friends and family too.
It's like you said.. those decisions aren't made overnight but over weeks or months of thinking. It will definitely be very clear at some point, especially as things unfold.
I actually thought of you when Steve told me how many weeks he would be in the interim position. I knew that you, especially, would relate to all the feelings I was experiencing. I have to say, I truly appreciate all the warmth and understanding from all of you here on the boards. How nice it is to get so muc non-judgemental support from friends
.
Wow! What a decision!
In life, as one chapter closes a new one opens. This could be a very exciting opportunity. It would be wonderful to have a crystal ball so you could see the future, no?
On the other hand, I would be leery of making any decision before November 8th. We may be putting our timeshares on the market on November 9th and saying goodbye to the US for a few years depending on how things go that day (A+ has some VERY strong feelings about the politics right now).
I am a strong believer in both fate and karma. So lets hope that both are positive, whatever you decide!
Thanks Munro
. While I would like the luxury of waiting until the election results are in, I was told today that he needs to indicate his interest by next Wednesday.....so we will be making a bit of a leap of faith where politics are concerned. I am sure the move wouldn't occur until closer to the new year, our decision will be made long before the votes are counted.
You really think you might sell your timeshares? If you ever decide to list the SVR week, I may have someone who would be interested in buying (depending on your asking price). Hopefully it won't get to that for you, but if it does, be sure to send me a PM.
Mrs. Doubtfire has a good suggestion I think ... for you to spend some time in Plymouth with Steve while you ponder this decision. Although visiting somewhere and living there can be very different things. What an exciting opportunity to be given though, and could be a big adventure, living in another country for a while. Would you consider taking your mother with you?
Mom flatly refuses to go, though I gave her a sincere offer to come along. She doesn't want to be that far away from where my dad is buried. It is important to her to be able to visit the cemetery regularly, and I understand that need. If we decide to accept the transfer, though, I'm going to need one fantastic long-distance plan!
I think the idea of you going with him is a good one, so you can see if you would even like it. Possibly do some job hunting to see if you could even find one you would like. You do have the advantage of Steve's job getting your work visa which is one less hindrance to a potential employer. I know Michigan generally doesn't fair well during recessions because of the auto industry and I don't know how well it's doing as a whole. I have family there, though on the western side and the UP. Honestly, it's not a state I would want to live in, that's me coming from the west coast. But having visited Toronto, I have a friend that lives in Etobicoke near the airport that I stayed with, I would rather stay in Ontario. But again, I'm coming from the west. MI is more conservative, catholic and church in general, farms and auto. But Plymouth is between Ann Arbor and Detroit so it may be more suburbs and city. My aunt and uncle lived in Flint after he was transferred to the GM plant there, and it was nice in the area they lived. Maybe it's my family there that skews this too because I lived in NC outside of Charlotte for 6 years and I might as well have described NC except replace catholic with baptist and auto with racing and Plymouth with Kannapolis where I lived. Haha. But Charlotte tends to be more liberal to an extent because of all the transplants, my district had a democratic congressman. But I digress.
This too! Umm...I may be looking to move north. Or as my friend suggested, since we're in Florida that week, spending election day at Universal, if it's bad we'll just stay there and send home for Dude and her cat Cody and stay in the world
Michigan would not have been my first choice in American locations to put down roots (if nothing else, its way too cold
), but alas......that is where Steve's company set up camp. I don't necessarily mind the conservative, traditional lifestyle as I'm a rather conservative, traditional girl myself
. I am no fan of Detroit (its a little too rough around the edges for me) but I'm hoping the Plymouth area has more charm.
My goodness! That is quite a lot to process. It is interesting that this opportunity to move presents itself right when Jake has officially moved out. And also the same year that you were looking to spread your wings at a different job as well. Maybe that also didn't work out for a reason! Sometimes interpreting the Universe's messages to us is so confusing! But, yeah, duh, if the job was in Florida the message would be loud and clear!! Will the kittens be given Visas too?
The timeliness and circumstances of this opportunity has not escaped us. Almost like it was meant to be, isn't it?
The kittens will absolutely be joining us if we decide to make Michigan our new home. We could never leave the little bums behind.
I don't post much, but I have read all of your reports and follow your trips. I happen to live in Michigan and happen to be about 30 minutes from Plymouth and have lived here all my life. If you have any questions or if you do end up coming to Michigan for an exploring visit I would be glad to help you plan or help anyway I can. Good Luck on your decision!
@DontRushMe , that's an offer I may just take you up on! If we decide to accept the transfer, I will most definitely send you a PM. I'd love to get the inside scoop from someone who is "in the know"
.
So the important question is- would you be moving to a city that is near an airport with cheap fares to Orlando?
It's a very tough decision, but it is at a good time- no worries about having to pull a child out of school and into a new one. Congrats to Steve!
LOL, we actually discussed that the other night when we were talking on the phone
. I'm not ashamed to admit that its an important consideration for us. We would be very close to both Detroit and Flint, but unfortunately Jetblue does not fly nonstop out of either (or at all out of Flint)
.
Wow-that is some news! Moving like that is a huge hard decision and there will always be "what-ifs" no matter the ultimate decision. I have lived in MI too-loved it (in Grand Rapids) in high school. Great beaches in summer on MI side of lake. I have lived in North Dakota, Michigan, Florida (temporary), Texas, Arkansas and Missouri-Texas, Arkansas and moving from and to MO happened since been married and having kids. I loved my house and neighborhood in texas and arkansas and cried on leaving both. Leaving those states to move "home" to missouri ultimately was the right decision(we moved to this same town twice-2nd time finally stuck LOL). Each time move occurred because of job opportunity for DH, and advancement possibilities. We are only 2-3 hours from family now instead of a plane or days drive away-but we have younger kids.
Maybe Jake can live/rent your house while you guys move to the states? Although I agree no hasty decisions until after November...otherwise may see mass exodus of States peeps trying to get to Canada
We thought about Jake taking over our house as well, but its further away (by a half hour or more) from where he works and I don't think he's ready for the maintenance that a home requires. We have a reasonably large yard with a zillion mature trees which means lots of mowing, trimming and raking, none of which compliment his busy lifestyle. You know what one of the silly things is that I am worried about? I would have to get my car there, which means driving through Toronto.....which I have never done!! And a 7 hour car trip all alone
. It's all these little things that are keeping me up at night.
Wow! That's a big decision. I know it will all work out though
Thanks Joanna
.
I admit thinking the same thing about access to Disney when we moved to another state a few years back!
I have heard positive reports from another Diser of flying from the Flint airport, but that leaves us with only Allegiant if we want non-stop. I don't know anyone that's flown Allegiant so I'll have to do a little research on their seating options to see if they offer any kind of extra legroom. First World Problems, I know!!
. I eventually got some snuggles from Dash (he's definitely my cuddlebug of the two) but only a good case of the giggles from Violet's antics. I can hardly imagine what it will be like when they both just curl up and sleep soundly next to me while I watch TV, though I know that will seem to come sooner rather than later.
(how Violet manages to step on the power button EVERY SINGLE TIME is beyond me! 
) but eventually I got it done.
