2015 was a BIG year for the McGee family: BIG birthdays, BIG move, BIG changes.
We started out 2015 knowing we’d need to move, but not knowing where. I prayed…and prayed…and prayed that we wouldn’t have to leave Florida. That’s home! Our friends and family are there, the familiar is there. We love it.
At the end of January 2015, Emma and I celebrated BIG birthdays: 16 and 40, respectively. We were gifted with the ability to go to NYC for a long weekend. We were blessed to go with some of our closest friends. It was an amazing weekend. If you HAVE to turn 40, I highly recommend doing it in The Big Apple! (for more about our trip, read this blog post)
By March, no jobs were opening up in Florida, so we had to open up the search…we sent applications out to schools as close as Georgia and as far as South Korea. I teach high school English and Dave teaches high school Bible. There aren’t many Christian schools looking for both those positions.
In May, we accepted positions at Calvary Christian Academy in Chula Vista, CA (for more info on that, read this blog post). We had a month to say painful goodbyes and prepare for this BIG move. Leaving Florida was difficult, but we knew God directed us to California, and we trusted His plans – even if they were VERY different from ours!
You can read this blog post for info about our cross-country drive and house hunt. Both were long and arduous, but ended well. We loved getting to see family along the way, but we are in NO hurry to make any more long drives for a long time!
Adjusting to life in southern California has been a roller coaster. Lots of BIG changes! The weather is amazing. But
millions of people know that, so the roads, the stores, the malls — everywhere — are all ridiculously crowded. We’ve lived in large cities before – San Jose, Madrid, Tampa – it’s not like we’re “small town” people. But having EVERY parking space in a mall full, long lines EVERY time we go grocery shopping…not fun.
The beaches are (sorry Florida!) SO MUCH better than those on the east coast. Huge waves, beautiful sand, tall cliffs. And the sunsets…wow. LA is just a couple hours away (with no traffic…which, sadly is an oxymoron here!). Two hours east is the desert – and Dave’s old stomping grounds. And there are mountains all over the place – some even get snow in the winter!
Our new school is on a year-round schedule, so Dave and I started July 7 — less than two weeks after we moved into our house! The first term flew by, and we settled in better than we expected (for more on that, read this blog post). The kids got involved in sports, the school musical, and made some great friends.
The second term was more challenging – primarily, I think, because the “honeymoon phase” ended right about the time the holidays started. Thanksgiving without family?? We haven’t had that in almost a decade. Christmas was better because friends came to visit. But it was bittersweet — reminding us of what we’re missing and how, though we have friends here, they are “new” friends. We love them, but we miss our old friends!!
We never expected, at the beginning of 2015, to be in San Diego by the end of 2015. We have seen God do mighty things, and we have come to depend on Him in new ways.
2016 will see our oldest begin her senior year and our youngest become a teenager. What else does it hold? Who knows! I have learned enough to know I shouldn’t even try to guess. But I do know who holds 2016, and I will trust in Him.
