Countdown to California!

California 2004

 Friday - March 22, 2013

Well, it's official!  Joe and I are back on our "moving to San Francisco" track for a 2-3 year assignment.  True to form, I have already begun the official countdown; we have to be out of the house 14 weeks from today (on June 28).  That number is a bit of a wake-up call and we are now definitely shifting into "preparation for exit" mode.

Two very young looking children near Big Sur

Given that we were on the San Francisco track through May last year (yes, even after beginning chemo we were still debating shifting to UCSF for my treatment - CRAZY!), we have been considering house locations for well over a year.  It seems that we are narrowing on the North Bay with the thought that Joe will commute by ferry from Larkspur, Tiburon, or Sausalito and that I will work in Marin.  Next week, I will wrap up the hours needed for my ESL endorsement, the last step needed for my California teaching license.  Yes, can you believe it?  Without an ESL student in my class last year, I still am a bit short and am tremendously appreciative of an ESL teaching colleague who has arranged an observation as well as twice weekly ESL tutoring sessions for a local second grader.  I am extremely excited to be able to work in another school and to be able to assist a young student.  My overall professional goal is to be ready to interview  - California license in hand - when Joe and I go out for our house hunting trip in mid June. 

All in all, I am starting to feel very jazzed about treating ourselves to a new, beautiful locale and exploring northern California and the Pacific Northwest.  Putting a bit of physical distance from this house and its close association with my illness and my cancer treatment is also a BIG bonus.  We love the Williamsburg area and are looking forward to moving into our Kingsmill forever home and back into our current jobs in a few years.  But for now, why not shift our empty nest west and get to know another vibrant American city?  Jonathan has actually mentioned grad school in the Bay area and Megan is nearby.  Sounds great!

Of course in order for this plan to come to fruition, I still need to have clear MRI and PET scans on May 15.  And if they aren't clear?  If I relapse?  Then the move to San Francisco is off and a move back to Arlington (with its proximity to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore) is ON.  But for now, our sites are set on San Francisco, we are trolling real estate sites to check out options and areas, and I am reading up on schools in Marin.  We are thinking forward, making plans, and believing we will maintain our recent streak of good health!