M - 19

Today is "M - 19" -- 19 days before moving day. I've been busily wrapping up school classes that I'm teaching this week, now with two more class sessions to teach and five courses with some grading yet to do, we're getting down to the wire. A lot of our things have been boxed and stacked in the garage for more than a year, as we were originally expecting to move for seminary attendance. More boxes are erupting in various low-traffic areas of the house now and I'm trying to be sure we don't get ahead of ourselves and have everything packed up too long before moving day. You always wonder if things will go quickly or slowly.

We're looking forward to this move to Watseka, Illinois. It will be a difficult transition and a challenging first year, with my schedule at The Potter's School remaining full at the same time that I have a full schedule as a pastor. But I've worked double-time sometimes in the past and frankly wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had only one job.

Will we miss the community where we've lived for almost sixteen years? Sure! Let's see, brick streets lined with beautiful trees, a very classy house dating from 1917, friendly neighbors, knowing where to go and what to do in town, knowledge of the places to get the best deals when shopping for anything, there's lots to miss. Yet we look forward to moving to a smaller community, a town of about 10% the size of our current town. They've got sidewalks, trees, neat houses, and businesses as well. In a smaller community it will be more possible to get to know a wide variety of people. It isn't as transient a society there. And we'll get to start over with new habits and patterns of life. For the first time in a very long time we'll live less than a half hour's drive from where we worship and will feel much more like members of the community. We look forward to that.

So here we go - move minus 19.