The Last Home Stand

It was made official tonight in an email from Saudi...we'll be moving out of the beach house forever and ever at the end of July. The good part about that is that we're excited about the change, and it's great that we'll get one last July out of the place. The wonky news is that means we really should be preparing for the move all winter long...packing, throwing things away, giving things away, streamlining, etc...and although that sounds kind of fun, it's not.

What makes the timing strange for us is that I work on contracts and as far as I know, at the present moment, my YMCA contract is over in December, and will most likely look very different in January... if there's a contract in place at all. I'm assured that there will be but anymore assurances are worth about as much as VHS tapes. My contract with the school board is equally as tenuous, and to make matters hilariously more tipsy, each one of my bosses are retiring this Spring, which means brand new faces, which means people who may or may not see value in what I do, which means job hunting. Now, of course, if the contracts fall into place, and probably most importantly, if the school board contract is renewed for the 2011-2012 school year, then I'll not worry about too much, but if any of the blocks fall, everything from my bank account to my housing plans go for a loop.

In ten months we could very well not have a 519 area code...we most likely will, but it's very possible that we are forced to find greener pastures. The extra shove on the swing set of uncertainty is that a move at the end of July makes my opportunity to work with jeff Yokoyama in Huntington Beach a lot more difficult to manage...almost impossible.

This is what I mean when I tell you folks out there who urge me to buy a home or settle into one community or another to just chill and let me live my life. I'm a happy guy, and I like our life, but stability isn't a part of it. So it looks like we better get busy enjoying these last few months here...lightening up our eventual load...and keeping a sharp eye for opportunities. Maybe big change is on it's way, and maybe not...maybe we just need to sidestep a little and keep chugging for the end zone? I dunno, but it feels good to have some confirmation about at least some of the details.

Five, almost six years we've spent here at the beach...not bad, considering we thought we'd get one or two. It won't be as hard to leave as you might think, but it could be a whole lot easier if all the pieces stay together.