Since this blog was down for most of 2014, I wasn’t able to write about all we experienced. We loved Memphis, our incredible community there, and our brick bungalow. But by February everything was changing.
Michael accepted a job teaching at a historic boys’ school in Nashville. After a frantic season of interviews, visits, testing and applications, the dust settled and Kate was enrolled at the sister school (which starts in 5th grade.) I accepted a 4th grade teaching position at a PK-6th grade feeder school and Lexi is a student there as well. We rented out our house to three teachers and found a place in Nashville.
I’d love to end this story with “we all lived happily ever after” but that’s not entirely the truth. It takes time to settle in. Being a stranger in a strange land isn’t new to us, and that is a comfort. But our family and friends have suffered great losses and we have felt far away and alone.
At the same time, new beginnings are filled with hope and promise. Our new lives are full of new opportunities for each of us. We look back fondly on our time in Memphis, reminded of how God was with us and provided community. We know we will see his goodness in the land of the living.
We are spending New Year’s Eve traveling back from visiting family; a trip we extended to meet our brand-new niece. Holding a newborn is a good reminder that the world is filled with possibility.
My hope is that 2015 is the year we fall in love with Nashville. At minimum, our goal is to join a church and settle in. That always helps.