Moving soon

One month to go. The move to Nome.

We are going to buy our plane tickets when Amy gets paid on the 20th. That will take a serious chunk out of the $1500 that Nome Public Schools is allotting for moving expenses. It is worth every penny.

I am apprehensive. Sure, I am. This is a big move. But you know what? I can't imagine anything better.

A new place. I mean new--most people have never been there, and most probably have never heard of it. Small town atmosphere. Cut off from the rest of the world except by plane and dogsled. Dogsled! Every year, the Iditarod dogsled race ends in Nome. The school takes its spring break then just to celebrate.

I am bringing a whole family up there, which makes me a little nervous too. It's not just me. If it were just me, like my move to Seattle in 1999, I would have no worries whatsoever. Sometimes I feel like I am forcing them to go to the ends of the earth.

But they are not being forced. We have talked about it to no end. Morgan is excited to see snow (this part of Washington is lucky to get a day of snow a year--now she will have more than she can handle!). Amy is a mover. She does not like being in the same place. She is worried though because she doesn't have a "job" yet. There are jobs there, plenty from all my conversations with the school district. She'll get one easy. And my "raise" from Bremerton School District to Nome Public Schools helps. She is nervous all the same, but really only about the money aspect.

This isn't about money. It's about doing something different. Taking an adventure that most people are too timid to take. People do this all the time. Morgan's friend Tori just moved away to Virginia because her dad is in the military, so they move a lot.

In the end, I am excited. I want this. I love learning new things. I will be in the minority there--the population is 58% Native American and 42% Caucasian.

This blog will be turning in a major way to a journal of Nome. I am going to do my best to chronicle the day to day life and activities.