Home >> puzzel pieces falling into place

Last spring I spotted an ad in the local paper advertising a position to manage an apartment building. Paul and I had done this for the first 10 years of our marriage and we were considering doing it again, so we called the number and were amazed to have received a call to meet for an interview… Unknowingly, the ad was the tip of an iceberg that we have finally been able to go under water and see…TODAY!

I hardly know where to begin except to say that the end of Paul’s school contract and the journey to secure another position has been a wild ride. We gave up on the management job when we received word that they had hired another candidate in April. Then about five or six weeks ago, we received a call asking if we were still interested….YES!!! Through a series of meetings and negotiations, we are happy to announce that Paul will begin on Monday, September 29th. This is not merely managing an apartment building, but we will be hosting students from around the world who are coming to learn English. On Saturday we had the opportunity to meet incoming students and show them around town. It was simply a thrill. Today we received the call that indeed we have the position and will be moving in about 4 weeks. Now we can move forward with getting our house on the market and the kids enrolled into a good school which is only three blocks from the building.

This has truly tested my faith. I have been afraid. We have prayed. Our friends have prayed. At the same time there have been strangely peaceful days when I have known deeply that something was in the works, but had no idea what. Then there have been days of complete despair when I grab the mail and see bills that I have no idea how we’ll pay. But along with those bills, occasionally there have been surprise checks and monetary gift cards that have kept us afloat. Or the phone would ring with a new freelance project that covered our mortgage to the dime. I have to ask God to forgive me for worrying and doubting. He has provided. And we are so grateful for a temporary job that Paul has been able to do for the past few weeks while we waited and waited and waited…

Now the adventure begins—how to go from a five bedroom, three bath house to a two bedroom apartment? This in itself will be a journey. By taking some of our furniture to the apartment, we’ll be able to see what we really need, like picking a bouquet out of a weedy garden. The smaller the purse, the less stuff to lug around. Stuff is heavy and has to be cleaned, sorted and maintained. It robs time. One of my dreams is to have more time to take the kids to the zoo, museums, the park! We live in Chicago and have not seen 1/1000th of what there is to see because of stuff…grass to be mowed, weeds, dust, dirt, a house to renovate. For a season, the next chapter at least, I’m looking forward to freedom on many levels…finances, time, and the freedom to give.

I also have to mention some of the intricate details that only God could have orchestrated. The building’s front yard is a state-of-the-art playground, the side yard is a soccer field, the building is next to the train station so my mother is able to walk to the train in Winfield and get off at “our” building. (I’m claiming it already!) During the long time between reading the ad in the spring and being offered the job today, the building has been under renovation…perhaps not a good place for our children when the jackhammers were buzzing all day. The building is not done, but it’s close and certainly not the war zone that it has been for these past five months. Each of the apartments has been equipped with beautiful stainless steel/granite kitchens, wireless internet, cable and flat screened TVs… just a few extra perks! We’ve never had cable!

On a realistic note, I do expect this to be a challenge. We’ve managed property and have lots of outrageous tenant stories. But we’re still excited to be going down this new road! It’s a job that requires so much of what Paul and I have become and the skills that we’ve honed over the years.

Posted in Work@home | 1 Comment »