Well, a lot has been happening around these parts lately. Sometimes life is crazy and chaotic, and trying to plan things has always been one of my best and worst features. I love to plan, but at some point, life takes over and you just have to let go and say to yourself, “It will all work out.”
Here is a short list of things we’ve had going on lately:
- Mike and I finished our semester of college; he had a couple papers to write, a couple exams to do, and a huge capstone presentation the week before finals. I ended up having a final in all of my classes (five of them), which has never happened to me before.
- Mike graduated from college! Obviously a huge accomplishment for anyone, but it was a little bit sweeter watching him walk across the stage, knowing his ups and downs he had during his college career.
- I was offered an internship position for the summer in Myrtle Beach! After Mike was offered a job there and we decided to move, the hunt was on for me to find a summer position. I called, emailed, or sent my resume to over 40 businesses in the area. I heard back from a couple, but most of them said they would keep my resume for the future, since they weren’t hiring at the moment. It was my first experience with this type of job search. Every job or internship I have had can be somewhat attributed to people I knew that got me in or got me an interview. Moving to a new city where we don’t know anyone was super tricky and overwhelming as far as finding a job goes. But like I said, I had to let go and hope for the best. Once I let go and started applying for non-internship positions, I heard from one company that does real estate, design, and construction. I got my offer the Thursday before finals week, and it was an amazing relief of stress. This summer, I will be working on creating and finalizing AutoCAD drawings for custom homes. I am very excited to have a more architectural-based internship because I think that will help me grow and I expect to learn a lot about the residential construction world.
- Mike and I packed our lives up in preparation to make the big move. Now, moving in and of itself can be a stressful time, not to mention very time-consuming. But, our situation is a little different. Mike’s position in Myrtle Beach is technically a training period for two years, and we don’t know many things about the near future, a few of them being: if we will like the area, if Mike’s position has the option to be longer than the two year training period, or what other positions across the country (or world) will become available to Mike through his company. Because of this, we are not taking all of our belongings with us. Some of our stuff is still at each of our parents’ houses; some is at my apartment at school. This has made things complicated, to say the least. It is difficult to look at every single possession and ask yourself, “Do I need this in Myrtle Beach? Do I need this at college? Do I even need this at all?” After this two-year training period at Mike’s job, we will reassess our living situation, and we will move all of our furniture then.
- Mike’s sister gave birth to her third child, and first boy, Ford Mercy. He was born on May 12, 2015 and we are obviously head over heels for the little guy. Mike and I had the pleasure of visiting him yesterday. It’s always funny how we seem to forget how small a newborn is when we haven’t held one in a while. I feel blessed to be a part of Mike’s family in many ways, but the fact that his sisters have welcomed now five grandchildren in total in less than five years definitely lends itself well to having a family full of love. There is a certain joy of seeing children laughing and playing that, I believe, can keep you youthful and happy.
Besides all of that, and that is a lot, Mike and I are trying to just enjoy the time we have with our families before we make the move this upcoming Friday (eek!). You could say we are a bit excited.
Layna O'Connor 