What a year that was. What a year this will be.

Wow. What a year I’ve had. 

Yesterday, in a moment of peace, my husband said we’d had a year that could make it into a Christmas letter. A very full Christmas letter. The problem is, the stuff that’s happened, you’d never ever see in a Christmas letter. 

My daughter was in a car accident where she totaled our car, lost her license, and had significant cost and challenges to get out of that hole. No one was hurt. 

I acquired a permanent stalking order against my perennial stalker after months of court dates and it taking way too much of my attention.

The health of my in-laws deteriorated so they needed to move into assisted living. This was after we’d moved them out from Iowa from assisted living, so they could be together, and with us. 

I welcomed my in-laws back for one stay at home, where my father-in-law took advantage of Oregon’s Death with Dignity law, truncating his suffering, and allowing for a more orderly, loving transition for his wife with dementia, surrounded by family. 

My day job continued to be a challenge, with retirements, resignations, and reassignments that further destabilized my already tenuous and vague job. 

Throughout all of this, there were still many many things that brought deep joy, including a loving husband of 27 years, with whom I felt I could weather anything; a deepening faith that through this, God was clearly present; a wonderful church community to work and occasionally worship; and good colleagues and friends. 

I embarked on a daily gratitude campaign, snapping shots of simple things that brought me joy every day. Not because life was without drama. Not because I wanted people to think everything was all roses. But because despite the storm, there’s beauty, and plenty of places to experience gratitude. We just need to stop and see it. 

Today, mid-April, I feel like I’m through one challenge, and staring down another. This time, I’m inviting the storm, and it’s full of promise and excitement.

It all began when I felt the urge to do something different with my paying job. I began to apply for jobs all over the Northwest. Unfortunately, my days as assistant city manager or associate vice president were getting farther away in the rearview mirror, and although I knew I could do the jobs, nothing panned out. Repeatedly, I’d get an interview, only to receive the “Thanks-you’re-the-next-runner-up” letter. Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. Guess I’ll go eat worms.  I was the one and only guest at the greatest pity party I’d ever hosted. 

John was a few years away from being fully vested in the Oregon Public Employees Pension, so we were trying to make a go of sticking around. We’d decided to change up our life in Eugene, sell the house and move into a downtown apartment. We found one we really liked and put a deposit down on it. 

Right about that time, I’d pouted to a colleague in Portland, who said he’d hire me, but I was in Eugene, not Portland. Hmm. . It’s an organization I care deeply about, and people I respect and would like to work with. Hmm. .  

John and I had already gotten our heads into the space of selling our house and moving into an apartment. Why did it matter where the apartment was?  

Um. If you’re serious about hiring me, let’s talk. I’m serious.  So we began conversations about the possible job. As we were exploring options, he said, “If it is of God, it will work out”. With that, I was all in. 

John and I started in earnest to find an area in Portland to move and got our house on the market. 

With our house officially on the market 5 days, we’ve had three offers. The first was over the asking price and came in 2 days. Alas, the buyers walked away. The second offer came one day later and was a full cash offer. Alas, those buyers walked away too. The third offer came another day later. We’re in negotiations for that offer. I have cautious optimism that this will go through, but then again, I did for the previous two offers as well. I cannot approach it any other way. 

The challenge with our home is that it’s a quirky mix of expense and expanse, with constraint and repairs. It would not be considered a starter home because of the price. It’s on 2 acres, with 2 creeks and a pond and a spectacular garden. We’ve invested a lot in the inside and outside of the house and cottage and built a spectacular garden. We salvaged and brought back to life a beautiful northwest mid-century modern home. But it still has 20+ foggy windows, needs some stucco work, and the greatest constraint is that the main house has only one bedroom. I suspect buyers in this hot market are quick to make an offer on the house they imagine, and then slowly realize what it would take to achieve that vision. 

We’ll know within a week or so if this offer will stick. If not, the house will go back on the market. 

Meanwhile, we’ve secured a great apartment in downtown Portland, between Portland State and the Willamette River. It’s a one-bedroom unit on the 21st floor, with a west-facing balcony. The location is perfect, with easy access downtown, a quick walk to the grocery store, bike access everywhere and when needed, transit routes right outside the front door. 

We are actually moving to Portland this week, into our new, small apartment, and I couldn’t be more excited. 

Yesterday was my first day without a full-time job to go to in decades. My new job will not begin until July, which will allow me to get settled and established in a new city and new world. We’re still working out job details, so I don’t have much else to say about the job, but it will be absolutely spectacular, because I am certain it is of God. 

This week we’re getting a little reflective about our time in Eugene, going through all of the Remember When… conversations. And the I love . . . conversations. There’s no remorse. And it’s not sentimental nostalgia. But we are trying to acknowledge that a lot happened to us and our family during our time in Eugene. We’re trying to memorialize the places that trigger those memories, so we can take them with us. 

Rest assured. I’m still grateful. Daily.  When we’re settled in our new world, I’ll be back to sharing those moments of gratitude. And sharing how this new world unfolds.