What a week - sheesh!

Sorry for the lack of blog activity lately - the last week has been a roller coaster for me, and I've been quite distracted....to say the least! So last Tuesday I got the call I had been waiting for - a job offer for the Title V Academic Advisor position I'd applied to at CSU Stanislaus in Turlock! David and I talked and discussed for hours, weighed the pros and cons, and eventually decided to take the plunge - to move back to Manteca and to begin a new chapter of our lives out in the Central Valley. Our motivations to have a house with a yard, to become more financially stable, to be closer to my family, to give David the ability to go back to school, and to be able to afford having another child, all prompted our decision to leave the Bay Area. It wasn't an easy decision by any means, because often when we're faced with huge transitions and tough life-altering decisions, there are almost always a slew of competing values and various pros & cons that come into the mix - and this decision was no different. But weighing out all the criteria and the multiple factors involved, we decided that despite the temporary challenges we might face, it was ultimately the right decision for me to take the job and for us to move....

BUT.......

the update is...... David and I won't actually be moving after all (at least right now). I received an unfortunate phone call last Friday rescinding my job offer at CSU Stanislaus due to budget/union issues (long story.....ugh). So even though the grant money is still there to fund the Title V program, my position will no longer be available to me at this point - since other employees are about to be laid off, and they will have preferential hiring priority. : (

Oh well, I truly believe things happen for a reason. It's not like we're sad to stay in the Bay Area by any means - as I mentioned above, it was a tough decision to leave Alameda in the first place, and now we don't have to deal with those "cons" on our list. We'll get to stay near our wonderful friends in the Bay, we can continue to live in the amazing community of Alameda by the beach, and we won't have to give up the security and stability we've built here over the last 11 years of our relationship. But we're still a bit bummed and frustrated as you could imagine, especially since we had put so much emotional energy into this decision and our plans for moving/starting new professional adventures out in the Central Valley. But we also believe it must have not been meant to be at this time. Thankfully I was able to rescind my resignation at Cal just in time....so I still have a job...whew!

Oh the roller coaster of life.... : )