Moving Forward

 
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

- Alan Watts

Sometimes change jumps up and smacks you in the face, as it did three years ago when Fred’s job was eliminated.  He had made the choice to leave a good job to take what appeared to be a better job, but the company that had hired him just eight months earlier decided they needed to eliminate 100+ jobs to strengthen their bottom line. That company’s decisions affected us profoundly, resulting in so many unwanted, unimagined, heart wrenching changes.

Sometimes change walks up, sits you down, and tells you it’s time to make other plans.  Fred’s current employer has announced that they will be closing their Bellingham facility in June 2013. 

This time, we’ve been given over a year’s notice that he’ll need to make other plans for employment.  It’s never easy to hear that the job that supports your family is ending, but hearing, “your job will end in fourteen months” is so much better then hearing, “today is your last day,” as was the case three years ago.

Fred’s current employer is located in Wisconsin, and they have offered jobs to anyone at the Bellingham facility who is willing to relocate.  This is an incredibly generous offer, and they are a great company to work for, but we would prefer to remain on the west coast, hopefully further south than we are now. 

Bellingham is a charming town, but it’s cold and rainy here so much of the year.  I have found that I don’t do well in a cold, damp climate and am looking forward to moving to someplace warmer.  I’m also looking forward to possibly living closer to family in southern California.

We’ve started working on getting ready to move.  We found a new home for our chickens this past weekend and will now work on finishing the landscaping in our backyard.  We’ve been sorting through our possessions and donating things we no longer want or need.  We did the same thing just three years ago and have so much less “stuff” now than we did then.

We don’t know when we’ll be leaving the area.  We may be here for at least another year, but we are considering all options and opportunities, and doing what we can now to prepare for the move.

There are worse things that could be happening.  We’ve certainly experienced worse, and that has given us some perspective about the changes in front of us now.

Sometimes change is a good thing.  It can reach out and pull you forward, moving you closer to where you want to be.

Cindy