As I Prepare for our Phoenix Departure

When we first moved to Phoenix... Zach and I told each other (and our families), that it was the 5-year plan. However, life got in the way...Much of the time we've spent here has been good. From the students and colleagues that have fostered friendships and networking opportunities with.To the years, I've spent learning the beautiful dance traditions of Hawaii and the sisterhood of ladies who have helped me become a better version of myself.

The births of my two youngest daughters’ Zhenna and Fiona. The love my family has fostered for festival season in the beautiful sunshine weather during the months of February through April. To the friends I have made through learning and practicing Buddhism.
There have also been disappointments and sad times. When I was let go from my full-time job. The horrible car accident I was in 4 years ago. The time I’ve spent in the hospital for all the gastric issues I have dealt with.
Any way I look at it, I have grown as a mother, as an educator, as a friend, but most importantly as a person. However, just as all good stories must come to an end, so must our time here.
My husband has been waiting 4 years for a disability hearing and it has finally been scheduled for May 2016. Whether that hearing finally puts our family back on track, or whether it becomes a disappointment is truly out of our hands at this point. Additionally, Nina will finish 3rd grade in May. So, all signs point to packing up our home and renting out our house, as we return to Pennsylvania.
We have missed our family and friends very deeply for a long time, but it is truly a bittersweet time none-the-less. However, many of the career opportunities we moved here for have been gone for some time.
So it is with some solace, I pack our belongings and the treasures we've acquired in the 8 years we've called Phoenix our home. I am still looking forward to new adventures in my future. The application of the lessons I've learned here, to where those lessons will lead us when we return to our home will be a worthwhile venture.
Thank you if you have been part of our Phoenix journey, we will remember these years fondly. Also, thank you to our friends and family that will be taking us back with open arms, as we start our next adventure.