Part III- BK. and now.. Fidi

Summer of 2018 came and went. Yes, we did go back to visit Seattle again. It was a difficult trip to find out about my mom's Parkinson diagnosis. It was also very busy to update our Issaquah townhome....We left Seattle in August with a smokey sky... It was a hot summer with many wild fires. We also left with exhaustion... and feeling of depleted.

I interviewed Emblemhealth in June, and knew that I will get the job and start working and having a "normal" life. Two months later, I started working after returning from PNW. I am still adjusting my mind around the climate difference. AGAIN, it is so hot and humid here.

The legistics of going back to school and coordinating kids' schedule and my schedule nearly freaked me out. Thankfully, Will's parents came to visit and rescue the kids from camps and school holidays.

Now, I am having this "normal" schedule of working and commuting and picking/dropping off kids...is almost unreal. Is THIS the new chapter of life? How long will it last? When will we move back to Seattle? Will I go back to school to finish FNP?

Part II- The East Coast

What happened to the summer of 2017?

1. Bruce turned 3.
2. We spent a great summer in Seattle visiting mom and traveling all different places
3. I started working at Cincinnati Children's Hospital (for just only 2 months)
4. I also began taking classes at Wright State University for FNP program.

Everything was smooth sailing, until one day.. Will came home and updated me that he took an offer to work for Nickelodean. I asked why and where is the job? The rest is history. No matter how much I tried to convince his way to my way. I was not winning.

Ok. Fine. We booked a trip to visit NY during November. Will had to start working there. We just found a place in the south end of Park Slope in Brooklyn. It was not my top choice. I wanted to get away from the city. I wanted to live in the suburbs like Westchester or Pelham... Larchmont area..

Nothing worked for me. I couldn't get my RN license transferred right away. The winter blizzard was harsh. I ended up not taking classes and delaying my program. I took Bruce to Giocare preschool for 3 months and finally gave up. Bruce did not enjoy his preschool transition. EVERY SINGLE TIME when he brought up his old school friends.. and told me how much he misses them. It just breaks my heart.

Olivia on the other hand, successfully transferred to PS 10 and finished Kindergarten with no sweats. I explored more with Bruce at the Prospect Park, Central Library and the zoo like daily..weekly basis. I tried to set up interviews and getting my credentials to work as a school nurse. Unfortunately, nothing came to my way until late May. I was ready for the summer to fly back to Seattle to visit again.

There were so many unhappy moments of living in NY... such as smoking, street litters, people cursing...riding the nasty subways...sigh.. I just did not enjoy living in NYC on top of being a stay-at-home mom.

The new chapter life after done having kids: Part I- the Midwest

To recap what has happened during the summer of 2016:
1.Bruce just turned 2 years old.
2. I finished first year working as a school nurse in Bellevue School District.
3. Will took a job at P&G that required a relocation to Cincinnati,OH

Boom, then, we moved to the midwest.

I vividly remember the hot, and humid month of August was so unbearable. We stayed at the Hilton hotels in Mason for almost 3 weeks? until we signed our new apartment rental lease. I had to fly back to work with the movers. A week later, our stuff were packed and shipped.

We faced numerous transition challenges. Not to mention about the weather difference, but also the people and streets. It felt suddenly like we were thrown back 10 years. The shops were old. The children museum was "vintage", a better way to say it rather than outdated. Kids were fine exploring all sorts of new places and meeting new people.

Soon, we discovered the part of Mason city is newer and more updated with city dollars. Versus, the other part of the town like King Mills is more farmland, and less retails stores. However, the locals were already complaining the increasing number of population or houses being built..etc. The economy boom wasn't going at a great scale whatever. I guess the town just didn't like too much changes at once.

To this date, almost 2 years later, I still miss the kids' preschool at Christ Church in Mason. The teachers were so great. The Mason Community Center had a lot to offer for kids and stay-at-home mom like me to get toned. Especially the Manta Ray Swimming team there gave Olivia a big confident boost. If we didn't live there, we would not have discovered her athelet capability.

I truly enjoyed the time we spent living there. It was the best time to explore with kids (age 2-3, 4-5), and going to places where mostly were kids friendly.