I got to spend a WHOLE week at the trailer with my bestie Olivia and my cousin Marshall!
He said
Well, we didn’t get the answer we wanted last Friday for the one job that Danielle really wanted, so she got herself right back into job hunt mode this week and diligently spent a little bit of each day digging in and doubling down. A week later, there are some good prospects she’s uncovered but I will let her tell that story. I am just super proud (but not at all surprised) at how hard she is working at this. Wherever she ends up is going to be delighted with the dedicated, focused and gives-her-all they are going to get!
Last week, we talked about the place that Mom & Dad had found to move in to, on Monday this week that took a strange turn. One of the other places they were going to be looking at called Monday to let them know they suddenly had a two bedroom assisted living apartment. This would more immediately suit their needs. Thankfully Shawn was able to shuttle them over for a viewing and by the time that was complete, they had put down another deposit and have their hearts set on Oak Crossing. This place is about the same distance from our house and the balcony is easily double the size! They’re delighted, so naturally we are too!
So, lets finally talk about the amazing week we had at the trailer! One of my favourite things about it that with the Goderich to Guelph Trail, I am able to keep up my cycling while we’re at the trailer. And the best part is the run that I’ve found is actually more of a workout than more home, regular run to the tune of four more kilometres. And who can argue with a wonder gravel path converted railroad bed through rolling farm landscape? A couple days all of us go out together (Justin, Stephanie, Danielle and myself). And one day we even ventured the just about 2km more to Cowbell Brewing to reward ourselves with a beer and some lunch for the extra calories we burned. I managed to ride the trail every single day up to and including today.
The rest of the week at the trailer was a mixture of good food, great friends, lots of laughs, and, most importantly, lots of camp fires. Emelia got the chance to feed the elk. She got to play with one of her besties Olivia all week. And then come the weekend she got to reconnect with her cousin Marshall! Every night ended at the fire pit under some beautiful starlit skies while we enjoyed each other’s company over a adult drink or two. And the mornings were full on wake when you want and start it all over again—at the laziest of paces of course. It was a near perfect week and it was around Wednesday when I realized there was still more time to unwind, but boy was I already feeling successfully unwound.
She said
As John mentioned last week I received the news I didn’t want. The job I was one of the front runners for didn’t pan out. It came down to me and one other applicant and they chose the other person. The director sent me a very nice email but said that it came down to the other applicant having a lengthy background volunteering at the school that pushed them into the position. Sadly I wouldn’t be able to compete with that but proud that I was able to make it to the final two applicants of a pool of over 100 people. But this did certainly put a damper on the family vacation this week.
I
made time each day at the trailer to apply for as many jobs as I could, network in every way I could and generally put my nose to the grindstone to try and find work. Basically looking for a job, became my job. Not ideal but this was my reality. But the nice part of job hunting is that I could do the entire search from the trailer. I took a few pockets each day to focus in on the search and keep at it.
Between job hunting we had an amazing week. We had so much time with friends and family it was exactly what we needed as a family. As always we spent much of the week with the Sherwoods but we also got to spend a ton of time with other friends. Our good friends Tina and Fern were able to make it up for the entire week and we also had visits from our friend Norma and her kids and my sister and her family just spent the weekend with us. It was pure bliss.
The entire week was all about being outside, spending a ton of time together and generally do what we love to do – camp and be in the outdoors. Emelia was thrilled because we even squeezed in some beach time while jumping through the waves. It was such a great week.
We are now back to reality – relaxed (well, as relaxed as I do these days job hunting) and happy for all the family time we had together. The reality will kick in now. We have so much on our plates these days. Between finding work, taking care of Emelia’s needs as we ramp up the return to school, and now assuring that we pack Helen and Doug up for their big move while digging through 30 years of collected memories. The process of moving them will be a stressful one, we have to find a way to pair down a 3000 square foot house into a 900 square foot apartment. We worry about how much work this is on Helen and Doug when you take in account all the emotions of this big change. The family is coming together to try and make this as easy as possible but it will be a big task no matter what.
Our hope is that this time next month we have them in their new place, with the proper supports so we can shift the focus to purging and selling their home. But that is next week.