Another Life Update

It has been ages (and I do actually mean ages) since I’ve sat down and written anything on here. I’ve done light journaling, loads on internal processing, but for some reason, every time I contemplated sitting down to put my thoughts somewhere for people to read, I felt stuck. But in the past few days, 3 different people have asked about blog updates and I decided today was the day to get back on the horse.

So much life has happened since I last wrote here in January. Dillon and I entered the new year experiencing our first miscarriage which, over a few weeks, launched me into burnout. Instead of taking space to grieve, process, and rest, I launched into lists, forward momentum, and hustle. In February I found myself so mentally fried that I could barely make it through a normal day and had to trim back areas of my life for serious rest. The first week of March, we decided to celebrate our anniversary and get away by going to Cancun for a week. Unbeknownst to us, a season of quarantine was headed our way and that time away was such a God-send.

When we came back from Cancun, within two weeks, our jobs, like many others, were put on hold. In fact, the day that my job officially moved remote, we found out we were pregnant again with another baby! I worked from home until the middle of April when I was told that my position would be on furlough until July. The weeks following were spent “just being a mom” (which is a loaded phrase), but was a job that gave me the freedom to nap when my kiddo napped and play when she played and that structure was such a gift amidst all the unknowns.

In the middle of June, I got another update on my job and was told that due to the lack of events and large-scale activities on campus, my job was being eliminated. There was a part of me that was surprised and even nervous to no longer have something on the calendar to mark change. However, there was also a sense of peace, knowing that with this change I wouldn’t have to navigate childcare options for Nora or have to continue with splitting my time so heavily. June 30th, my position at Messiah officially ended and it was, and still is, so bittersweet.

The day I lost my job, Dillon panic-applied to a few other positions, feeling the desire to take on a role in his field that offered more opportunities for growth. To our surprise, he was given an interview within 24 hours and was offered a job within two weeks of applying! His new job was located in Lancaster, so we found ourselves navigating another new set of changes and decisions; housing. For the past few years, we have wanted to move closer to family and this new job and my lack of job made this feel like a good season to explore that option. We had finished all of our home renovations during lock-down, so we were ready to list our first little home. We had close to 30 showings in 48 hours and by the end of 2 days, 8 offers were on the table. It felt like another affirmation that we were walking in the right direction.

And that brings us to today. Dillon started his new job the beginning of August and we temporarily moved in with my parents while we continue searching for our next home. All while having a 2 1/2 old and being 6 months pregnant. It’s been a whirlwind, but we feel at peace and are extremely grateful.

So much of our life has been happening “off the grid” lately. We haven’t been sharing a lot on social media or been posting regular updates on Kinfolk. To be honest, we’re still discerning the best ways to move forward with our hobbies and passions while recognizing that we are a family who needs regular rest and Sabbath. **P.S. Go read John Mark Comer’s Book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. It’ll change the way you think.

So that’s a wildly abbreviated version of where our life is at currently and what we’ve been up to…in addition to all sorts of summer things like eating corn, playing with cousin Colton, FaceTiming our Canadian family, and watching The Office on repeat. We hope you’re enjoying where this season has landed you, whether or not it was where you initially hoped to be. When Nora was born, I remember praying desperately for an uninterrupted summer just being her mom, and though I didn’t anticipate a global pandemic and losing my job to be the impetus for this gift, I’m sure going to embrace it before we welcome Baby Girl #2 in November.

All the best,

The Siders