The Rumors Are True...

The word is out, and I need to just post something about it!
I think I'll just repost a recent email exchange to clear the air...

From my friend Marie:

"Brent told me today that Zach said you guys are moving....tell me he is wrong!!!"

From Me to Marie (and now everyone):

Oh Marie, I hate to say it, but Brent is right. Brace yourself...   You're about to get an ear-full.

We are seriously trying to find a home near the kids' school.  Because all of our kids are now at the charter school, I've been commuting for an hour and a half each day to make the three round trips to the school. Though next year would only mean one hour of planned commuting, there are other problems.

I've had to tell the kids all year that they couldn't participate in the school band, choir or after-school art classes, etc. because of the extra 30 minute round trip. Lauren couldn't audition for the school musical because she wasn't in the choir, and she ended up being a stage manager just so she could be involved. (Still more driving for me.)

The kids would make a new friend at school and be invited to play, and I'd groan inside because I either had to tell them "no" or spend another HOUR driving. Then you throw in the time I've spent traveling to the school to do volunteer work or go to PTO board meetings, plus shuttling kids to piano lessons and three boys to three different soccer teams, school programs, and I realized that I've spent as much time traveling this year as Matt - who flies across the country nearly every week! 

I hit my breaking point in mid-May when I realized that the fall soccer season would start the same week I had the baby, and school starts the week after the baby is born. I'm not even supposed to be driving for weeks after the c-section, let alone running a full-time shuttle. I thought, "Something has got to give!"

A new baby is really exciting for our family, but I had to face facts that they take up a lot of TIME. So I started looking for ways to make our life and this new child more compatible. I told the boys that they'd have to give up soccer for a year. I told Matt that I think we need to move closer to the school, so I could regain much of that driving time and devote it to the care of this new baby. Living near the school will also let the kids develop better friendships, and let them take advantage of great after-school programs.

The other catch is this... Matt REALLY wants to keep our current home as a rental property. We've debated this at length. If we keep the house, we can't get any of our equity out of it to buy a new house, and I can't keep living this way for years while we save up another down payment. So I proposed that we find a place to rent. We can see what it's like to be landlords and still save up the money for a new home. Matt was okay with that, so I've been searching for a place to rent that's near the school. 

The options are limited to say the least. We're so specific about the location, the number of bedrooms, and the price range we need to make this work, that it narrows the field quickly. There are two reasonable places that are in the cue right now. They will both be ready near July 1st, but one owner has been VERY slow to schedule an appointment to view the property, and the other home is being renovated (we'll see it on June 20th.)

We've involved the kids in the decision and the house hunt, and they recognize the advantages of moving so they're excited and telling everyone about it. Sorry to write a novel in answer to your question - this has been the ongoing family drama for 4 weeks - but the short answers is, "Yes, if there is any way we can move closer to the kids school this summer, then we'll do it."  Oh how I wish that staying here would work! Moving certainly isn't my idea of fun, but I've given everything my best shot this year, and I just don't know what else to do to make our life work in the coming school year.

If you're wondering about scouts, I'm committed to working with the boys through the summer in hopes that it will keep the Webelos on track and the ward will have time to find a good replacement.

Again, I'm sorry to talk your ear off,

Candace