I will never forget the days of "the calls" of which determined these last two moves for our family. Not to be all dramatic or anything, but I never thought we would make serious changes in our lives all because of a job! But hey, you just try and make the best decisions based on what you know at the present time and what you hope for your future.
I was six months pregnant with our first child and we were comfortably settled in our first home of two years. Matt had just finished painting the nursery. Matt was also ready for the next step in his career...new challenges and responsibilities. He had thrown the idea around of working in a paper mill before just in casual conversation, and we knew that another position for him was brewing, just didn't know what or when. Well, Matt was hit with two proposals at once. One was a position just created in Memphis. The other...paper mill in Valiant, OK. I remember picking Matt up from work because one of the cars was being worked on. The first word of the paper mill job was in the car ride home that day. We didn't really think much about it. As the week progressed, Matt received a phone call from HR suggesting that he interview for the mill job. Matt told her he didn't think it was a good time to consider a move being that his wife was six months pregnant and has two jobs herself. Somehow she convinced him and before I knew it, we were on a plane to Shreveport, LA and driving into Paris, TX for an interview. I just remember thinking..."I can't believe we are doing this! Why are we doing this? We are not moving to Texas!" We only spent one night so didn't have much time to scope out the town, but there long enough to figure out Paris, TX was far from what we were accustomed to. This girl grew up in a small town, but it wasn't MY small town if you know what I mean. Well, next day was interview day. Matt rode with the HR rep into the mill while I stayed at the hotel. IP had arranged for a real estate agent to pick me up and to"show some homes." At this point I'm really thinking "what the heck are we doing?" After finishing up the morning tour of homes, I was to meet Matt for lunch with the interviewers in Valiant, OK. Guess you are wondering why we wouldn't be looking at homes there since that's where the job would be. Well, lets just say it's a mill town...simple as that! So, on my way to Valiant, I get pulled over in the rental for speeding. Is this a dream? Nope! Cop had no sympathy for this woman with child! Finally get to the mill, had lunch, met the team, and informally told Matt and I this job would be offered. I distinctly remember that three hour car ride back to Shreveport. We discussed every pro and con of taking the mill job. Matt didn't have much time to make a decision because the other job in Memphis was needing an answer. Well, somewhere between Valiant and Shreveport we had made a joint decision to go for the mill. The following day was Friday...formal offer day from mill and giving Memphis job an answer. I was scheduled to work at the hospital and called in sick. I wasn't mentally capable of taking care of sick children on a day that Matt would accept a job and determined where we would be living for the next two years. So, he did. Got "the call" somewhere mid morning. Job accepted in April, started in June, closed on a house June 30th (our anniversary), all moved in by mid July, and had our first child, Harris, born on August 18th.
The next two years were hard being away from family and friends, but we made it. We made some great friends and found our favorite spots for the weekends. Harris became known as "Harris from Paris" and his daddy even came up with a song. We had lots of family and friends that traveled to see us which we will be forever grateful for. The time we spent in Paris wasn't so bad. Having Harris in our lives was beyond wonderful and it wouldn't have mattered where we landed.
Matt was coming up on his two years at the mill which was a timeline IP had in mind for the position he was in. There was also a "redesign" taking place within the finance department. We were starting to wonder...what do you think is the next step? when/what will they propose? It was the end of February. We had just spent a long weekend in Memphis for a family reunion. We were traveling back to Paris on a Sunday, when faced with a bad scare on the interstate that involved a flying ladder and us doing three spins and landing in the median. Needless to say, we had a few nerves shot for the remaining drive and a sleepless night. The next day Harris and I were doing our morning stroll in the neighborhood and then walking up to every house that owned a basketball goal (he had just taken on an obsession for basketball). I received "the call" from Matt saying that he had talked to his boss about a new position. He asked me..."Are you ready? You are going to freak out!" Me..."What? Tell!" Matt...RUSSIA! Umm...ok this is nuts! We were near being in a fatal car accident yesterday and today we are hit with a job opportunity in Russia? This is too much! Shocked?...yes. Opposed?...not really. I just remember telling Matt..."We have to." Of course I'm thinking about what this could mean for his career. But I'm also thinking...anything to get us out of Paris and back to Memphis! So here we are. Our next abode will be a three bedroom apartment in Imatra, Finland.
Harris and I are staying with Papa and Gigi (my parents) this week in Brownsville, TN. We played outside this morning and went to the baseball field to watch Mary Margaret's boys play this evening. Harris would occasionally go up to the fence and say "ball" or "whoa" when the batter hit the ball. He had the most fun with throwing rocks in the garbage can. Can we say "all boy!"
Update on Matt's travel:
Matt made it to Manchester and is now in Imatra. Said he is exhausted as we can all imagine. Thank goodness for Skype! Maybe Harris and I can see and talk to him tomorrow.
Stacy
