Yes, or no?

So I’m sitting here in the Blue Butterfly Café on Main St. in downtown El Segundo. The setting is what you’d call a very main street USA…quite opposite to the picture of the city center of Munich that I’m staring at on my screensaver. Historic storefronts line the street topped off with a city park with white gazebo and all. Why am I here? Well, my husband is currently standing outside the door of a room full of important administrators of El Segundo Unified School District, waiting to be called in for his second interview of today, just minutes from now. Godspeed Travis!

It’s been an interesting day. At 11:00am, Travis went in for his interview of the Elementary School Assistant Principal position in this quaint, seaside city of the South Bay. It’s actually a unique position in that he’d be Assistant Principal over the two elementary schools in this small district, rather than just the usual one. This is the second time they’ve flown this position; apparently the first time they didn’t find the right match for the job. Although a little intimidated to be interviewing for his first AP position, Travis was confident and ready for whatever today may bring. Well, not to my surprise he had what it took to bring him to step two, this second interview. It’s been a strange day in that we had to wait two hours after his initial interview this morning to get the call that they’d like to see him a second time this afternoon, this time with a larger panel of interviewers. So, after putzing around this city and killing some time, we’ve split up again and now my thoughts are with him as he in the middle of it.

Actually, my thoughts have been wildly active all week. Travis and I are living a rather odd existence right now, in that we are in this bizarre time of transition not knowing where in this state of California we might end up. Although we’ve had no problem having a place to rest our heads (thanks to our families), we are still living out of our same old suitcases without any sense of permanence or settling down. At least not yet. Our current home, the Longs’ loft in Pasadena, is the most familiar place we have lived all year. We know this city, the stores, the restaurants, the bike rides. Only this time we are not residents, we’re not going to and from our jobs each day, and not keeping up our home. We’re still travelers in a way as our journey towards the next step in our lives continues.

Every time Travis sends out a resume, it’s hard not to let my mind wonder and think, “What would it feel like to live there? What would our lives look like in that location?” After a year living in so many different extremes, sometimes we think we could settle anywhere and be happy. Other times though, we realize our criterion has narrowed and we have more specific requests for our desired place to settle down. I think this comes from being in such a unique place. When else in our lives have we had the freedom to literally pick up and move wherever the best opportunity arises, without severing any ties or commitments? Those ties were all severed a year ago, when we packed it all up and began this adventure.

Speaking of a year ago, we enjoy thinking back time and again to reflect on those early weeks of last year, “newbies” living in Spain making our way around with our beginner levels of Spanish. These memories are never far from my heart or my thoughts. I’ve been asked, “Do you wish you were still traveling? Is it hard to be back in the USA?” To be honest, even though last year was my dream of all dreams, the answer is no. It couldn’t have been any clearer to me than it was this week when we brought the Longs to the International terminal of LAX airport to catch their flight to Italy. Seeing the millions of people pulling their heavy luggage, passports and tickets in hand, standing in lines and looking bleary-eyed and hurried, nothing inside me wanted to seal up my bag and get on a plane again. At least now right now. Sure, I was allured by the thought of being in Italy again and discovering more of the magic that we discovered there. But truly, we had our adventure, our eyes were opened to a world larger than imaginable, and even though we’ve only touched the surface of what we’d like to see and experience it’s time for us to again have a place to call “our home.”

A home. Permanence. Routine daily life. A typical schedule. A closet. Our toiletries in a drawer, not a travel bag. Cooking in a kitchen where we know where everything is. Using our own things. Having an income! Things you don’t even think about when they are in place, but when you’ve been without them for so long they seem like a really big deal. Am I ready for this again?

I’m watching the cars passing by the window, knowing that at any moment Travis will drive up to fetch me. What will his expression be? Will I instantly know if he was offered the job, or not? Will we even know today, or will the district think on it over the weekend? I’m on pins and needles. Depending on what they are looking for, Travis might be the perfect match and within moments we may be celebrating. Our current non-permanent existence will change in an instant and our weekend may be shaped around looking for an apartment in El Segundo, sorting through the storage unit to find Travis’s dress clothes, and figuring out what our “new lives” will hold. It sounds like a whirlwind in comparison to our current schedule. On the other hand, this may just be one great “practice round” for Travis, and our future is yet to behold. If not this job, I’m sure there will be more. The important thing is that it’s a good fit for Travis and a position he is excited about. Ahh! The car just pulled up………

……..So here we’re on Saturday, and I’m presenting you with a cliffhanger. Travis walked into that café yesterday with a thumbs up and a smile. He was happy and calm, and felt like he nailed the 2nd interview. The outcome? We won’t know until early next week! Like I said before, the competition for this position is steep and they need some time to think about their decision. The best news is that Travis felt great about the position, how he presented himself, and his experience and qualifications that have lead him to this point. If anything, this interview has helped confirm for him that an administration position is definitely what he desires. If he fits their mold, I have no doubt that he will excel. It was delightful for me to see him in his element again yesterday, after a year away from elementary education. Quite a different Travis sat beside me, looking dapper in his coat and tie, than the savvy (but sometimes stressed-out) traveler I’ve spent the year with.

This weekend will sure be tense for us as we wait for the call on Monday or Tuesday. Every time the phone rings we both jump. We don’t want to get too excited, because it could really go either way. But on the other hand, it’s so difficult not to let your mind wonder ahead and ponder what our lives would be like living in El Segundo. The good news is that whatever happens, we trust our future is in God’s hands and we will adapt and adjust to whatever may come next. If this isn’t it, there will be something else… and the journey continues.