My Spring Break

Yesterday was my last day at the firm. It was more bittersweet than I expected. Despite losing a lot of people in the last year, I still have some good friends that I will miss a lot. I worked hard to build a good reputation for myself (and to be the first to know all the good gossip) and I'll miss that. Friends/co-workers took me out to lunch where we started with a round of red wine (it was rainy and cold, it seemed fitting) and then I opened up a few bottles of champagne in my office at 4, so I ended up with a crowd as I frantically forwarded myself personal emails I needed to save and transferred a bunch of pictures to a thumb drive. We also laughed and reminisced and promised to keep in touch. I'll be missed and that makes me feel sad and warm and fuzzy at the same time. All in all, it was a good 3.5 year chapter of my career, even if I can't say I enjoyed every single minute.

And now we move on to a new city, new job, new most everything. In twelve days we will have closed on the purchase of one house and sale of another. We will own a 70-year-old house in Fort Worth that is in the middle of bathroom and kitchen floor renovations. I will have spent 9 days sitting in a new office at a new desk doing new things. The kids will have spent 5 days in their new daycare. Landon will have gone 5 days without wearing a superhero shirt (new school has a uniform if you're over 3). JP will *hopefully* be connected to the internet and working so seamlessly with the home office that his skeptical boss won't mind at all that he's 2.5 hours away.

All in the next twelve days.

Here's the breakdown:

Monday, 6 a.m. (after losing an hour to the time change the day before): drive out of Austin with 4 days worth of "first days of work" clothes and a Starbucks no fat no foam extra water chai tea latte
Monday, 9 a.m.: pull into parking garage of job in Fort Worth
Monday, 9:15 a.m.: become an SEC attorney

Monday-Thursday a.m.: work; stay in nearby very cheap hopefully safe hotel; try to get some sleep in cheap/safe hotel; don't miss JP and kids too much; try to learn as much as possible as fast as possible; make new friends

Thursday p.m.: close on house in Fort Worth; try not to panic as we get increasingly close to closing date and papers and letters are still needed from various places and I'm trying to work and not seem distracted in a new job; also hope new boss doesn't mind my disappearing for two hours in the afternoon when I already had to ask him for my first Friday off; stay at house long enough for walk through and for newly hired bug man to do thorough spray; go back to work with keys to new house (!)

Thursday later p.m.: drive back to Austin after work

Thursday super much later p.m.: arrive "home" in Austin for the last time (for a while)

Friday 7 a.m.: movers arrive to pack, load, and MOVE (kids will be in daycare, Tex will be at vet getting check-up so neither party is too upset by all the packing of the stuff)
Friday early p.m.: truck is loaded, JP and I pick up kids and dog and head to our next home!
Friday 10 p.m. (estimated): movers finish unloading truck, we all collapse in bed (who am I kidding? I'll be unpacking until I pass out, it's like a sickness)

Saturday 9 a.m.: go buy new fridge as soon as discount interior design warehouse place opens; pick up milk and breakfast for kids on the way
Saturday, 11 a.m.: meet contractor at house to measure floors for renovations (boxes will be everywhere and that ALREADY stresses me out)

Saturday-Sunday, generally: UNPACK (but not anywhere that will be remodeled, argh); keep kids out of pool; restrain jealousy that my parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents are all in Hawaii.

Monday-Thurs: I go to work, JP works from home (if we have internet, oh please let us have internet), kids go to new daycare

Thurs p.m.: we close on sale of the Austin house (oh PLEASE let us close on the sale of the Austin house); renovations begin immediately on Fort Worth house

Sometime in June: everything is renovated, unpacked, partially decorated, and awesome. Until then, it's going to be one heck of a Spring Break.