N is for Nomad.

New Jersey, New York, and now we can add North Carolina to the list of states Glenn and I have lived since we were married almost 15 months ago. Either we are working our way through all the N states or we are nomads?  What is the reason for yet another move? Glenn was offered a job at a High School teaching technical theatre. I am so proud of my husband! I am so appreciative that he has been willing to suck up any pride and work in crappy jobs up until now to take care of his family, he really deserves this.

Once again the job application process proved to be challenging. Glenn was offered this teaching job in Durham, NC and he accepted. We told family, friends, chose a place to live, and researched the town. We were both ready to leave New York, and excited for our next chapter. The very next day Glenn received a call from a University in Alabama wanting to fly him out for an interview all expenses paid. The interview went well, teaching at a college is Glenn’s dream, and it was looking like we might be moving to Alabama. We were split on what to do if Glenn was actually offered a job. I voted North Carolina, and Glenn wanted Alabama. The best way to describe my feelings about Alabama is like moving to Mars. I was feeling like the worst wife. I should be ecstatic to see my husband’s dream come true, and I just couldn’t shake all my anxious feelings about Alabama. I tried to prepare myself for either location, I consulted advice from friends and family, we made lists, talked the subject to death, and I cried. When I finally started understanding why Glenn wanted Alabama and started coming around to the idea, in the end there wasn’t even an offer. Of course there were initial feelings of disappointment from Glenn, but as our new life was around the corner we were counting down weeks, days, hours, and minutes together.

The last week in New York was difficult for a couple reasons. We loaded up a truck with all our stuff on Monday, and then lived in an empty apartment until Friday. We also had a week’s worth of goodbyes. We truly loved West Point Branch, and never had a single day we felt like we didn’t have any friends. Friday at 3:00 felt like it would never come, and when it did we loaded our last few things in the car, said one more goodbye, and had no desire to look back. We will miss our friends, but in all other aspects this change is for the better.

Here we are Day #3 living in Durham, North Carolina. After a rocky first day, things are going pretty well now. Our apartment was looking really dark and uninviting. We were driving through a lot of shady neighborhoods and I was worried that we were living so close to the ghetto. Now we have scouted out the nicer routes to drive, where to eat out, Lowes, and of course Target, which we seem to have a need to visit everyday so far. A couple new light fixtures, hanging up curtains, putting pictures on the wall, and we’re slowly starting to feel a little more at home every day. My favorite thing to note, we have a washer and dryer!!! Those excessive exclamations don’t even come close to expressing what this means to me. We have not one article of dirty anything right now :-) Glenn is teasing I am getting things dirty on purpose just to have a reason to use it. We now have two floors, two bedrooms, tons of storage space, fireplace, patio, and my other favorite a spacious master bedroom, with a bigger closet, and a huge bathroom. Other than feeling like I need more stuff to fill up all this new space I am happy. The dogs are busy exploring every square inch of their new home and happy to have a backyard area with grass. Glenn is busy with meetings at the school and preparing for his classes. I am hoping that I will be able to work as a substitute teacher while I continue to look for a job that I would be happy at and want to stay more permanently. Don’t quote me on this, but I have a feeling that Durham will be our home for quite a while. 

Our new townhome!