The boxes are starting to pile up in our house as we prepare to move. However, “we” will move in two different stages. When I announced on Sunday that I have accepted a position at Washington State University, I received a lot of questions about when we would be heading west. Tonight I thought I would update everyone on our timeline as I am sure my South Carolina contacts are wondering how much longer they are stuck with me.

This is what one area of our house looked like this morning. Didn’t take long for even more boxes to be added to the mix.

I will be leaving the state solo next week. I have bought a one-way ticket to Spokane for Friday, March 13. I will then have the weekend to adjust to the Pacific time zone before reporting for my first day on Monday, March 16.

A month from my start date is when Sidney, Sloan, and Beau will join me. Sid’s parents will accompany the trio on their flight. We have hired a moving company to ship all our items to Washington so I won’t be driving a U-Haul this time around (thank goodness!).

Okay, I know what you are thinking: He is going to be away from his family for how long? It will definitely be one of the greatest challenges of my life to be separated from my wife and kids for 34 days, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Beau is still very new and Sid still needs to heal from surgery, not to mention she will return to work for two weeks at the beginning of April. I will deal with the separation in the best way possible while counting down the days until we are reunited.

Thank you for the well wishes over the past couple days. It is an exciting, but stressful, time. I feel fortunate that I have employment lined up with a top-notch university and that Sid, Sloan, and Beau will be well taken care of during our time apart. Don’t Blink.