The First Week

And now, for a very non-sequitur update…

Well, we made it.  After all the packing and planning and travel logistics, we made it.  With three large suitcases, two small bags, and two backpacks, we moved to Pearl City, Hawaii.  While we have been extremely busy getting settled, we have most definitely been enjoying our time here.  We were even blessed to have Cole’s parents here for the first week to help us get settled.

The view from our back porch

 
 
 
It has been so fun exploring the surrounding areas.  Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, warm ocean water will never get old to me.  Every time we swim here, I can’t get over the extraordinarily blue and amazingly warm water.  So cool.  We have so enjoyed trying some of the local restaurants and soaking up all the aloha spirit (can you say “live music and hula dancing during cocktail hour”??).  But, lest you think that our time here has been nothing but paradisiacal, let me give you a snapshot of our week.

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A few years back, another Optometry student who was here on rotation bought a car; and it has since been passed down to student after subsequent student.  We were thrilled to hear of this arrangement and relieved to have an answer to our transportation problem.  The arrangement sounded great and we planned to pass it on to the student after us, until on Sunday night, just 4 days after Cole had inherited the car, it went belly-up on him.  The downside to the whole car arrangement was that this breakdown was inevitable and we were the fortunate students upon whom it decided to conk out.

I arrived on Monday night and spent the first day here at the mechanic trying to solve the issue while Cole was at work.  Long story short, it would have cost more than the car was worth to repair.  So, Wednesday was spent with my in-laws looking for cars.  By God’s grace, we found a decent replacement and have already beaten a path between Pearl City and Waikiki. Needless to say, dealing with car issues is one of my least favorite things.

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We are living in a residential area about 15 minutes from the beach. Cole absolutely loves his placement and attending doctor. And our little studio apartment has a washer and dryer.  This is all far more than we could have asked or imagined.  We are so very thankful for this adventure and for the way that the Lord has showered goodness upon goodness – even in a dead car – on our time here.  We are so excited to see what the next three months have in store!

Again, lest you think every day here is sunshine, palm trees, and Mai Tais on the beach, we are currently experiencing our first – and quite blustery! – Hawaiian rainstorm. I may or may not have a sunburn that is thankful for a day out of the sunshine…  Don’t let our pictures fool you, it gets cloudy here too!

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Until It's Gone

Well, here we are on the other side.  One week ago with the help of some friends, we packed up all of our belongings, scrubbed our little apartment until it shone, and said goodbye to our friends, our family, and our very first home together. 

The reality of our move is sinking in very slowly.  It still just feels as though we're on an extended vacation visiting family and that we'll return to Forest Grove soon.  I keep forgetting that we won't walk through our front door again or that I won't make pizza in that oven next Friday or that someone else will soon occupy my office or that we won't get to see the leaves on the tree across the street change into the fiery red that heralded autumn's arrival.  It's amazing what you miss once it's gone.

Throughout this whole moving and transition process, I have to say, we have felt so very blessed.  I'll tell you, if you want to feel loved, just quit your job, leave your church, and move across the ocean. Okay, maybe not.  But, in the process of doing just that, we have been completely overwhelmed by the love we experienced as we said goodbye.  It seems that the old maxim is true; you really don't know (or, perhaps in our case, appreciate) what you have until it's gone.

I was quite surprised to discover how hard it was to say goodbye.  I know I shouldn't have been so surprised, but I was.  In reflecting on our three years there, Cole and I were both so very overcome with gratitude for the people who have invested in us and loved us and shown such grace towards us. I worked with some incredible people; Cole went to school with some amazing people; and our church family?  Well, there just are no words.  And, unfortunately, at the time of "goodbye," the words never come. I am never able to say what I want to say.  We may not have always appreciated what we had to the fullest until it was gone, but, boy, do we ever see the gift now. We leave changed for the better, by His grace.  

And, speaking of leaving, my wonderful man is currently somewhere over the Pacific on his way to Hawaii ahead of me!  Looking forward to joining him next week...  We'll try to keep you updated and hope to post more pictures!

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What's Next?

Holy Moly. How did we even get here?  Three years ago, today seemed a lifetime away.  And now, here we are on the doorstep of change, cautiously approaching the threshold not knowing what will be on the other side.  We have been asked often about our next steps, our plans, and what the coming year has in store for us.  While we don't know a lot of the specifics, here is what we do know:

On May 6-7, we will pack up our moving truck and drive to Central Washington where Cole's family lives.  Cole's brother and sister-in-law have graciously offered their garage and home for our storage use.  We will stay in Sunnyside for about a week, then head to Spokane.  Cole leaves for Hawaii for his first optometry clinical externship on May 14, and I will follow him on the 20th.  He will be working at the Hickam-Pearl Air Force Base until mid-August.  We'll be living 20 minutes from the base in a delightful, little apartment in Pearl City.  And, while I do not know what exactly to expect, it looks as though I'll fill my time hosting our family (yay, visitors!!) and exploring Oahu.  

In August, we will move to Spokane, Washington, and move in with my parents! Contrary to what may be typical, I'm super excited! Cole will be working at the VA Hospital in North Spokane.  While the days will be long (~12 hours at the office!), we look forward to the three-day weekends and trips to Sunnyside to visit our niece and nephews!  

In November, we'll head to Denver, Colorado, to live with Cole's cousins while he works at a nearby private practice.  And, in February, we'll be back in Central Washington for Cole's final rotation before graduation. On May 17, 2014, my wonderful, hard-working husband will graduate from Pacific University College of Optometry as Doctor Cole Boboth. I couldn't be more proud or excited.

So, that's what we think we know.  That is what the next 12 months appear to hold.  That said, we know that God is bigger than our plans, so we'll see what happens!  We'll do our best to keep you updated (read, I'll post lots of Hawaiian sunsets). So please stay tuned....

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Things be a-changin’ around these parts. (in case you haven’t noticed, ha!) It is incredible how empty the apartment feels with everything off the walls and half of our lives in boxes.  However, though the physical space we occupy is emptying, our hearts are nothing but full.  I can’t tell you how blessed we have been in these last few weeks as we wrap up our time here.

There have been more moments than I care to confess where I have been overwhelmed with emotion: sadness, anticipation, regret, excitement.  You name it, I have felt it.  I have learned that it’s completely possible to miss people already even though you’re still with them.  I have learned that even after two or three years of looking forward to this moment, I’m extremely reluctant to say goodbye.  I have learned that I really, really, really hate goodbyes. (and we haven’t even left yet!) I have also learned (okay, I have known this for, like, my WHOLE life) that I’m not the best at dealing with change.  And so, I turn to the kitchen.

The beauty of cooking is that, for the most part, it’s reliable, predictable.  I know that I can cook up some Italian sausage, chop up an onion, mince garlic, sauté for a bit all together; throw in some tomato stuff and herbs and it always produces the best red sauce you have ever tasted. (recipe/method courtesy of my Iron Chef Mom.  If you have ever sat at her table, you are one of the luckiest.)  I know that, with some flour and egg in hand, I can press out some thin, light pappardelle. Add some boiling water and a willing audience, and you have a meal.  Each time, every time.

Though I can’t control the change around me, I know how to chop an onion.  Although, at times, it seems like I will be overcome by the unknown, I know how hot to sauté garlic before it burns.  And, when I don't know what to say, there is always the table that beckons those to draw near, eat, be loved.

Ultimately, (and because I set off the smoke alarm more often than I would like to admit) however, I am even more thankful for the unchanging One.  The One who, even when life is in upheaval and even when I burn my garlic, buoys my heart and carries us through.  We have an adventure-filled, exciting, and extremely unknown year ahead of us.  How thankful I am that there is One who goes before us.

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