Ch-ch-ch-changes

I've alluded to the big changes taking place in our lives several times, and now we're ready to give the full scoop. The short story is that Kyle has been offered his dream job in Denver and so we're moving to Denver in late July.

The longer story is that Kyle originally interviewed for this position during a sports med conference in San Diego, and while he considered it an interesting opportunity, the interview was more a chance to get a taste for what might be out there than to consider something concrete and real. After his initial conversations, more interviews ensued, and it became clear that the job was a stellar opportunity and one that only a few institutions in the country could offer. Plus, as things progressed, we learned that there were no positions available in Madison or Seattle, that we could have transitioned into more easily.

Despite the awesomeness of the Denver position, neither Kyle nor I had ever considered living in Denver (Denver itself evoked images of dry, sun-exposed, treeless plains for both of us, though the nearby mountains were always appealing). Everyone told us what a great city it is and how much we're going to love it, but we just weren't feeling that yet. So one of the biggest hurdles for us emotionally has been getting our arms around the idea of relocating there. That, in addition to the fact that we've finally made friends and found a great community in Madison, plus the fact that we love being relatively close to our parents and Kyle's siblings, plus the fact that I'm going to give birth in about 8 weeks, all made the thought of leaving here even more difficult.

Ultimately, we decided to go for it. The job is so perfect: he already knows, likes, and respects his colleagues, he gets the combination of clinical and academic work he was searching for, he'll be a part of very respectable sports med department, and he gets to take a leadership position right out of the gate. The professional opportunities for me in Denver are also more extensive than what Madison can offer. Plus, despite our initial hesitation about Denver, it will be fun to raise our kid(s) to love the trails and the snow, and we believe that we can find neighborhoods that fit our needs in terms of walkability, mature trees, good public schools, strong community, other kids, and transit, while also being close enough to the foothills and mountains so that it's easy to get out of town. Plus, we have friends in Denver who we are really looking forward to reconnecting with.

All those bonuses still don't quite add up to me feeling excited about the move. When I take the long view, I can conjure up all the good things about living in CO. But at the moment, we're mired in the logistics of moving: Dealing with movers, finding a rental house, setting up health insurance for when we're between jobs and I still need prenatal care, and starting to organize our things. I still can't believe that we're going to move about a month before I'm going to have a baby, but I guess it's better than moving a month after I have a baby. I'm technically going to go on leave from my job in Madison and will figure out my future there once we're more settled and I have a better sense of childcare options.

It's a lot to take in, and we'll just chalk it up to another adventure. We expect to see the four of you who read this blog there soon for visits!