signs

So, I accepted the transfer.

But I'm not completely settled in my decision.

While the job security is good and working for a solid blue chip company with a fantastic benefits package and pension and excellent salary is good, the thought of being in an office five days a week is not so good. Nor is the thought of commuting to that office through some of the worst traffic in the whole United States of America. I've driven through just about every city in this country and I'm certain the traffic on the roads surrounding Fairfax are among the most congested.

Ten years ago, nay - six years ago, before I was a mother, I would have JUMPED at this opportunity. To work alongside some of the top thinkers in my business, to be in the thick of it, where the decisions are made. There would have been no hesitation.

But these days, my dream job is to be home with my children.

Not shored up in an office for 40+ hours a week whilst wearing hose.

On the upside, change is exciting. And I do love the idea of being closer to family. In Virginia, we'd be just close enough that we could spend special occasions together. But not so close that rogue relatives could just drop in any old time and raid our refrigerator.

Not that they'd ever do that.

(Unless there were O'Henry Bars inside.)

This morning at our house was absolutely surreal. My boss sent an e-mail that indicated he needed a decision today. Moments later, I received a voicemail message from someone I know asking if Charlie (and possibly me) would be interested in a job in Southern California.

(And no, I don't think he reads my blog.)

The timing really couldn't be any more incredible.

My sister, Eileen, and her family arrives from Michigan tonight. They will be staying with us over the Easter holiday while my niece, Emily, talks to a handful of the 35 west coast colleges and universities that are trying to recruit her in to their women's golfing program.

(Note to self: Sign the kids up for golfing lessons and 12 years from now, watch the scholarships come rolling in.)

From the time I was an impressionable teen, Eileen has been my career role model. She is an environmental chemist and is the reason I got in to geology in the first place. Over the years, she has successfully managed to be a highly respected professional in the industry and a lovingly devoted mother at home. It is Eileen that frequently tells me, "The days are long but the years are short. Enjoy them while you have them. They grow up so fast, you'll blink and they're gone to school. Your company can easily replace you. Your family cannot."

I don't think it's a coincidence that she, of all people, will be here for the next week as Charlie and I attempt to navigate this next phase of our lives.

Today, while Charlie and I were debating all of these incredible options we have before us, our neighbor came over with a shopping bag full of canned soup. She has an allergic reaction to corn starch. She didn't know the soup had corn starch until after she got it home and threw away the receipt. Surely we could use 16 cans of chicken noodle?

She could see that we were totally preoccupied, probably because our children were running around the house in their underwear, things were flipped upside down everywhere, and we the both looked like we'd been hit by a freight train of indecision. Complete with wild hair, frazzled looks, and mismatched clothes. As we relayed to her the life changing choices that were currently before us, she looked at us for a moment with wide eyes before dropping the bag full of soup cans and saying, "Quick. Let's PRAY."

So right there in the living room, while the children ran around the house in their skivvies pretending that they were pterodactyls and other prehistoric creatures from the Triassic, my husband, Sydney and I, stood in a circle with our heads bowed and we prayed.

And we prayed and prayed and prayed some more.

At the moment, I'm still awaiting divine direction.

Hopefully, it will show up when my sister arrives, later tonight.