From Rob
Since it's all said and done, I guess I'll write about it. Back in the Fall Rob applied for a dream job - a tenure-track professorship at a small liberal arts college about 20 minutes from our house. The biology department there is a close-knit group of delightful people, and we were both really hopeful about Rob's chances.
In December he got a phone interview (which ended up being a face-to-face interview, which was fine by Rob), and then in early January he got the Real interview, which was 6 hours worth of presenting, meeting people, etc. He met with the Dean of the department, the President of the college, and the entire department. It was pretty intense, but again everyone was really nice.
The next week Rob heard back. There were 2 positions open, and Rob was in the top 3. After much debate, they chose the other 2. So, happy 3rd place to Rob!
No crying for us, though. Strangely, we weren't sad about it at all. I mean, it was disappointing, and it would have been a great job. But after Rob went and interviewed, all the anxiety went away. He felt really good about the interview, he felt like he showed them who he is and what he's about, and there's really not much else you can ask for in an interview process. On top of that, Rob has a great job right now, things are stable, his boss is a goddess, and we're happy.
Also, it was Rob's birthday on Wednesday. And he shaved off his beard. Those were unrelated events.
From Tamra
As of 2 days ago, I officially own the van sitting in my driveway. So I guess I can't say it's my parents' van any more. It's a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan. It's served my parents well for all this time, and the odometer proves it: 377,000 miles. Did you even know that number existed?! It's awesome. I want to walk around saying to people, "Guess how many miles my van has on it."
We intend to use it lightly. As I see it, the van's put in good time and deserves a rest period before the end comes. We're hoping that it lasts a year or two, and I think that's reasonable if we don't stress it out. It's really nice to be able to go to the store during the day, to the museum with Tank, etc. Hurray!
And I would insert another picture of it, but it's still covered in snow, and do you really need a picture of our van? No. You'll live.
From Miciah
She's still being Miciah. She reads and reads and reads, till all hours of the night. She's still doing piano and likes it when she's not whining about practicing. In general, though, her whining has gotten much better. She's a delightful 9-year-old and I have a good time with her. It's amazing how not yelling at someone every day really changes your relationship with that person. The tension that's always been there between us is less and less every day. We'll sit next to each other and just make each other laugh. It's lovely!
Miciah is still acing school with little effort. She was accepted into her school's gifted program for language arts starting next year. I think it means they'll actually try to challenge her, which is good. When I explained to her what the program was supposed to be like, to see if she wanted to do it, she said, "Language arts is so easy." Yes, sweetie, that's why they want to put you in an advanced class. Miciah also gets lots of comments from her teachers about how nice and respectful she is, which is something we expect from her. She's a great kid.
From Elijah
Elijah is crazy hyper most nights, and I'm counting down the days till good weather. He gets worse as he gets more tired, and by 8:00 it's almost intolerable. One night I told Tank and Elijah they had to go to bed. Tank said, "How come Miciah gets to stay up?" "Because Miciah doesn't get crazy when she's tired." Tank thought about that and then said, "But she gets whiny." Good point.
Elijah is a softie. We're only 1 movie away from finishing the Star Wars "saga," and he's still sad for Darth Vader. All through movies 4 and 5, while Vader was doing horrible things to people, Elijah was saying things like, "But he's still good, right?" No! He's not! Rob did tell him that there is some sort of happy ending for him, just so Elijah wouldn't freak out.
Elijah is also the kid who reminds us to read scriptures at night. If I suggest (because I'm lazy sometimes) that we just skip it, Elijah gets upset. He loves to read the verses, and he's getting pretty good. Scriptures are great, cause there are lots of big words to challenge new readers, but also lots of repetition to give them confidence. If they can't read anything else, they can always get "and it came to pass."
And a good Elijah story. Rob was gone and I was putting the kids to bed, but I was also really, really grumpy for no reason. So I told Elijah to go to bed and I'd be in to tuck him in "in a second." I needed some time to sit on the couch and just breathe before I went in there. You know, enjoy the silence for a few moments. As Elijah was walking to his room, and I was reassuring him that I'd be in "in a second," he said, "Does a second mean a minute to a parent?" Hmm. Apparently the answer to that is yes.
From Teancom
Tank's accomplishment for the week: Playing at the museum for 3 hours! We've had a museum membership for the majority of the time we've lived here. It's a great place for the kids, and they've loved it. Except for Tank in the last few months. We'd go and he'd throw a fit the entire time (I think I wrote about it). SO frustrating. So we decided that when the pass came up for renewal, we wouldn't do it. What's the point, if he's just going to throw fits the whole time?
On Saturday we took all 3 of the kids, and I was surprised by the fact that all 3 of them were really into it. I kinda thought that Miciah and Elijah were getting too old for the Children's Museum. Apparently not. So I told them that I'd give it a couple tries with Tank, see if he liked it better now. And he played happily. No fits, even when we left.
While we were there he asked me to crawl through the Woods area with him. There are tunnels and ladders and a slide. It's pretty great. I told him that I'd play for 10 minutes and then he needed to play on his own. He thought that was acceptable. So I took my coat, my purse, and my library copy of The Autobiography of Mark Twain. The tome probably weighs like 75 pounds. It was comical, I noted, as I shimmied back and forth through a climbing tunnel, pushing my book ahead of my body at every turn. Rob laughed at me when I told him the story and said, "Why didn't you just leave it on the bench?" What?! Leave a book behind? "What if someone took it?" Rob just looked at me. "Right. Cause it's a hot seller right now." Fine.
From Cleo
Our cat is about to be my brother's cat. Keith asked if he could take her up to his apartment in Dayton, and I happily agreed. Cleo still hasn't forgiven us for getting a dog. She stays in the basement all day long and therefore gets zero attention. Miciah was pretty sad when we told her, cause of all of us, she likes Cleo the best. Miciah's room is downstairs, and she cuddles with Cleo every night. Miciah cried for a while, but I explained that Cleo really would be happier at Keith's place. Miciah agreed, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. I suggested that she make something to help her remember Cleo. She took pictures and did a scrapbook page, and she's been happier ever since.
From Kui
Love my dog. We're still working with her, teaching her who's boss. We'd had her a few months before I felt like she really "got it" that we're in charge. She's barking less and behaving better in general, so we're making progress with her. She's a very compliant dog, and she was super well trained before we even got her. We're just fine tuning it. ... Love how cuddly she is. Love, love my dog.
And that's all of us. Happy almost February!
