People come to Caronport to be trained and once their training is complete they disperse into the world in the name of Christ. Well, my training is complete and so we are dispersing. The Wollfs will be moving to Ontario on April 19th, one day after graduation.
It really is time to go. Caronport and area is inundated with graduated theology and biblical studies students who are more qualified than I am and the opportunities for employment based on said degrees is shrinking in this area. There are also few opportunities for Victoria to do what she loves (or anything at all) or services for our son (soon to be sons) to benefit from. And, of course, there are the hard memories embedded into Caronport that have made us long for a new start somewhere else. It is time to go.
Not quite sure where exactly we are going yet, but we will probably be staying with Victoria's folks and they are absolutely thrilled to put us up for as long as we need. That will be good. They adore there grandson and it will be nice to have them help take care of things, if only for a couple weeks. My hope is that we will have a place and a job to go to before we even head out but so far a full month of hard searching and applying hasn't yielded any results. We thought something ideal had popped up on the housing front, but now we are lead to believe that it was a scam. No money was lost but it is disappointing nonetheless. The housing market is not good right now what with inflated prices and the current fad of only renting out rooms (for students) instead of a full house which we need. Townhouses and Condos are also out because of the stairs. Tori has enough trouble with stability without a steep set of stairs to navigate and recovering from C-section... yeah we're not going to do that. Then there's the thorny issue of the cat. Most places do not want pets and while Ontario law makes it illegal to evict on the basis of owning a pet actually getting into a place and maintaining a non-stressful relationship with the landlord are different issues. On the job front I have sent out flurries of applications with no response from any of them.
So we are packing and cleaning a section of the house each day until the moving truck gets here. I have to say that I find it rather exciting. I hated moving as a child because I had to give up what I was familiar with and try to make new friends. Now I have no friends (they all moved away) and might be able to find new ones! (Hmm... that last line wasn't supposed to come out as depressing as it did. Oh well.) I am used to moving. I know how to pack, I know how to stack, and I am mentally prepared for the whole starting over thing. It's a welcome change of pace after grinding on a thesis and dealing with unemployment in the cold of winter.
Not sure what I will make of the three day car ride though. It's going to be more driving than I've ever done in my life by a long shot. I'm used to long drives out to BC but I was always a passenger. Not sure how I will do to drive. Maybe now is a good time to start experimenting with coffee... Our son will go from rear-facing to front-facing, so that will be exciting for everyone. Tori has been compiling playlists for the drive out. I hear the scenery is absolutely gorgeous but that there is no civilization or stopping points between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay. So yeah, a loooong trip with my pregnant wife, attention seeking son, and maybe a neurotic cat all within the same confined space for three, maybe four days. Hopefully I'll be able to write about it afterwards.
Every new horizon means that something else fades into the distance. I will miss my family, although everyone has webcams now so that will be good. I knew this time would come eventually. We all did. We've been savoring every get together for a few years now, wondering if it might be the last one with all of us nearby. I think my family is good with it. It will still be hard to leave, which is natural but necessary.
I have a few personal hopes for this new chapter. I hope my family can rest and recover from the hard times we've endured. I hope to see my soon to be newborn son delivered safely. I hope to see my wife thrive, able to go outside and do things without fear of injury or rejection. I hope to see our sons explore, learn, play, and thrive. I hope to find friends, people I can talk with, have over, play games with, and learn from. I hope to find a church where we can plug into, that isn't afraid of disabilities, and that we can begin serving at. I hope to find a job that will pay for the necessities of life. I hope to put away money for our sons' education later on, for a house, and for basic savings. I hope to use what I've learned here at Briercrest in the work place, in the church, and among our future circle of friends. Are these too much to ask for? I don't know, but I have been asking for them.
In the meantime it's back to packing and cleaning and attending to our family needs.
Greg Out.
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