A simple thanks

I started this journey over a year ago because I thought Brooke was pregnant.  I wasn't sure how long I would last doing this blog but I knew there were a few things I wanted to put down on my blog because they were so important to me.  It seems as though there was life event after life event, and now there is another.

I have been offered, and accepted the position of Executive Director of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and its three entities, the Fraternity, Foundation, and F&H boards.  This truly is a dream come true.  To think I was once a pledge whose chapter was about to get kicked off campus, to now where I will soon become our 13th Eminent Supreme Recorder...is amazing.  Without question this is a huge responsibility and a massive change for Brooke and I.  One of the biggest changes is the fact that we will have to move to Chicago.  For the most part this is a no brainer, but I can't help but be a little sad for a few things.

I first should apologize.  I need to apologize to my family for moving so far away.  It breaks my heart to know that we wont be an easy drive away from each other like we are now.  It breaks my heart because the distance is what saddens Brooke the most.  While we are all supportive of this and ready to make the move, it is still sad.  While I'm sure my loved ones understand, I am sorry.

I am sorry to Seton Catholic School.  Not only do the love Brooke as a teacher, they love all of my girls as their own.  I never worry a bit with dropping all three of them off at school. There the get a Catholic backed education and are with teachers that love them to the core.  I am sorry that their own teachers cried when they got word that they were losing Baylor Grace, Caroline, and Reagan.  I am sorry that Brooke cried when she had her talk with the principal about having to leave.  I am most sorry that Reagan will miss out on getting taught first grade by her mother next year.  Seton is an amazing place, where we had roots.  I will miss that school and the people there.  Thank you so much for giving Brooke the opportunity to teach, and teaching my girls in their most formative years.

I can't even begin to thank Callie, Brooke, and Austin enough.  They have become such a big part of our family here in Lexington.  From the first time I grabbed Brooke into service, to the first time Callie met baby Caroline and was afraid to hold her....they have been here to help.  The girls love them so much, Baylor Grace got upset today when I told her Callie wasn't coming to play with here.  You three have been blessings and no matter how far we go, you will always be so close to our family.

In case you are wondering about this house, we have sold it.  The inspection was Wed. and the contract is pretty good.  Anything can happen but it looks good so far.  We are desperate to have Thanksgiving here even though the closing will be hours after that.  Reason being, we want one more gathering with all of our family here at the house.  A house that has provided so many great gatherings.  To birthdays, to births, to baptisms, to holidays, to games, etc.  This is the house where all of my children learned to be mobile, most learned to talk, walk, hug, get up after they fell down, potty trained, etc.  This house was so much more than a house, it was a home.  And the ducks, how could I forget them?  Every April they returned and we would fatten them up so Momma duck could go have their babies.  I hope the new owner takes as much joy in feeding the ducks that come back every year, as we have.  So many memories, it is sad to think that there wont be another calendar change in this house.

I normally am good with words but I am at this point honestly at a loss.  I am humbled and excited about the opportunities ahead.  I'm proud to stand next to Brooke, and love our life together.  I am sad to leave Lexington behind, and put a few more miles between both sets of parents.  All you ever want as a kid is to make your parents proud, and I hope I have  Sometimes in order to do so you must take leaps of faith like I am, even if it means taking you further away.  They hope they have raised you well enough to do just that, even if deep down inside it hurts them for you to do so.

There are so many people I could thank for preparing me for whats ahead but I know if I start, I will leave someone I care deeply about, out.  So thank you all, its been a hell of a ride.  The road goes on forever and the party never ends.  I will keep this blog going because now, more than ever, it will be a way for my loved ones to keep up with my goings on.  You probably thought that I had always done this blog for me, but truth be told, I have done this for you.