bigger, better

I don't think it's exactly been a secret that the hubs and I have tried to move a few times. The thing I love about Missouri is the people in it. I love my family. I love my friends. I love our church family/friends.

I am not at all in love with the weather, the lack of interesting things to do, the lack of easy transport to more interesting things to do, the lack of educational options (and employment options).

When I was a kid my dream was to become an Orca Trainer. How achievable is that? I didn't want to be a rockstar, a popular singer, an actor... I wanted to work with these amazingly large, majestic, and beautiful animals. I didn't do it, because I was too big a chicken to move away and go to school for it. 

However now that dream conflicts with some of my morals as I think it's entirely way too sad these animals have to be in captivity to entertain us. 

That was my dream. Since I was 8 years old. 

When my husband was 8 years old he had a "this is what I want to do when I grow up" too. It was to be a computer programmer / software engineer. By the time he was 13 or 14 years old he added to that with the dream of living in Silicon Valley. A programmer's dream city of opportunity.

Now that we have a son, we both figure it's pretty important to chase a dream. I want my son to have a dream, I want him to really want to do something and know that he can do it. I want him to be inspired by his parents' actions to do it too. 

When our son was 2 months old, my husband took his first steps towards making his dream happen. I think he had no real expectations of it being successful. Then he started getting calls the next business day after applying. 

His journey has been stressful and challenging and rewarding. It came down to 4 companies. One ended up not being able to make an offer for him, while another made a very good offer. Two more were up in the air, waiting for on-site interviewing. He left us for 3 days to go there and do his first round of on-sites. It was hard for every body.

That's when he got the first offer. It was hard to refuse it, and he didn't, but he tried to get the company to loosen up the dead-line on the offer acceptance so he could finish his interviewing process. It came down to a huge pros and cons list. Even if he'd had all the time he wanted and had gone and done the second round of on-site interviews, we both still think he'd have ended up choosing the company that had already made him an offer. 

So he gave them a call, got them to sweeten the deal a bit, and signed the paperwork late this afternoon. 

We're moving to San Francisco. 

His start date for the new job is July 1. We'll be moving out there in June - the weekend of the 22-23. 

It's terrifying and sad, but also very exiting and happy. I can't wait for the beautiful weather and living near the bay and having so many things to do. Of course, we're unexplainably sad to be leaving family and friends. It's hard. Especially with our newborn. But, I think most of them have been able to put aside their emotions and be very proud and happy for us. 

Wow. I'm so proud of my husband. He's doing it. He's about to be living his dream. How many people truly get to say that?