My new commute is better than I thought it would be! My old commute from Mount Vernon was about 30 miles, and took at least 35 minutes. I carpooled consistently, which saved gas, but added another 5 minutes or so. My new commute from Everson is 16 miles, and usually takes less than 25 minutes in the morning. (The afternoon commute is a bit busier, but still takes under 30 minutes.) It doesn’t seem like much in print, but “under 30 minutes” somehow feels a lot closer than “nearly 45 minutes”. I’ve also shifted my schedule a half hour earlier, which means I get to leave work at 4:30 pm each day, which gets me home at 5 pm, which gives me almost an hour more time with my family each evening than I was getting before. All in all, it’s turning out to be a great deal.

In the unlikely event that anyone is still checking this space, I should let you know that we're all moved in. If I have any excuse at all for being silent these last three months, it is because we've been house hunting, finding, buying, selling, cleaning, moving out, and moving in.

The purchase of our new home in Everson, Washington, closed last week Friday, so we spent last weekend moving all of our stuff up here from Mount Vernon, with the amazing help of many of our generous friends. This past week has been spent unpacking, and we've still got a good way to go. The sale of our house in Mount Vernon should close this coming week, which will free me from figuring out how to pay off three home loans (new home, old loan, bridge loan) and help us all to feel settled and ready to see what our new life circumstances will bring.

Hopefully you'll hear from me again before another three months have passed, so stay tuned. (Feel free to leave me a note if you're still here; a simple “I'm still reading!” message will suffice. No sense in writing if nobody is reading... Thanks!)