When we were given word that Mark was offered a job at University of Hawaii in Oahu I thought writing about it might help me process the ups and downs. After he informed me of the job offer, my initial excitement gave way to panic as I realized the implications. How could I leave my home, my children, my job, and my family, everything familiar and safe? How could I possibly leave everything I knew and loved in Oregon for an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a 5 hours plane ride from everything I held dear. Panic seized me along with a strange unfamiliar excitement and sense of adventure. I promised him I would keep an open mind until we had all the details.

This week we leave for the island of Oahu to talk to the university, discuss employment options for me, and meet all the people that want to hire and work with Mark. We are gathering information so we can decide if we are going to change the course of our lives by picking up and moving away from Oregon where I have lived my entire life, to Oahu the second largest Hawaiian Island, exchanging cool rain for warm rain, rhododendrons for plumeria, apples for pineapples, cold unfriendly oceans for warm inviting oceans, fir trees for palm trees, and an average of 60 degrees for average of 80. It all sounds amazing and beautiful, only thing missing…all the people I love and Mary’s Peak.