From Here To There!

Wow, but this year has been eventful!! It seems like every time I turn around, something is going on. Steven and I have been remarkably blessed through all the ups and downs of this year, and it seems we've been blessed yet again, though in a distant, slightly scary way.

Steven works for an oil change company that runs between where we live here in Tennessee, all the way up through parts of Kentucky. Let's go ahead and shorten it to Z. Now, Z is owned by a chemical company---Q. At some point, Steven plans on completing his Chemistry degree and going from Z to Q. Couple of things about Z: it's a phenomenal place to work, they really only promote from within the company, so there are lots of opportunities for advancement(Steven's already been promoted twice, and he's only worked there since March!), they look for reasons to promote you, they do tuition reimbursement...it really is a fantastic place to work. And it's great from the top(Q), all the way down to the very bottom of Z(Which is where Steven started--and where almost all of them have to start, since, again, they try to promote within company).


So. All that said, Steven had a big interview for a promotion yesterday. I mean, super big deal. They let him take an extra long break at lunch to go shower and change into business attire for it kind of big deal.

At home, I waited anxiously for the full hour it took for them to complete his interview. When he finally called, he was PUMPED up. He's the fastest promotion from his station to the next since their area manager has been a manager. His book(some hoop he had to jump through to get promoted) was nearly perfect. They adored him, in short. And, they asked him what his plans for the future were. When he said he was after his Chem degree, with the hopes of working for Q....they simply asked, "Are you relocatable?" Steven didn't miss a beat.
 "Absolutely. My wife is working on her nursing degree, she can get a job anywhere." (Just so we're clear, he didn't just jump to this without telling me, though I was slightly stunned when he was telling me about it yesterday...I had encouraged to go after a position in the labs. And, we'd talked about moving before--he knew I wasn't completely opposed to moving out of state.) The area manager for our area has called the one for the place in Kentucky they want us to go to. They said get most of his degree here, and then, the last year of schooling, transfer up there to finish and get a foot in the door of the Z up there.

It's kind of scary to be honest. I'm excited of course, and proud enough of him to bust...and yet, we just bought a house here! There's so many logistics...and it'll be at least two years before we go, so it's not knocking on our door or anything...but there has to be plans in place, and financial decisions made, and trips sacrificed, and so much to do to prepare for something like that...Of course, Z ate "I'm relocatable" up with a spoon. Especially with Steven, their little golden boy.

Still, the idea that, in a few years, we're living in Kentucky as opposed to Tennessee...it's a little mind-boggling, I think. My step dad said, "Well, Grace. I think it's good for young couples to get out on their own. You know, some people are born, raised, and die within fifty miles of each other...why do that, when there's such a big, wide world out there?"

It's definitely going to be an adventure...deciding how to proceed, doing it, sticking a plan, a stringent budget, finding a new house up there, finishing both our degrees....but...

I'm still strangely psyched about it.

And, I'm super proud of my hard-working husband, who's made a name for himself, all the way up through the ranks of Z, in under a year.

Way to go, babe!