I write from a comfy L-shaped couch in my sister-in-law’s house in Seattle. Summer still has the PNW clutched in its stuffy hands, but fall is peeking through the changing leaves and seasonal coffee drinks. After living multiple years in a landlocked state, it’s tantalizing to be close to the sea again and enjoy a view of it around practically every corner. I love Seattle.

As usual (perhaps even more than usual this time), it has been appallingly long since I’ve written anything here. The last post I wrote detailed getting married to JT in November, 2024. We turned around after executing our ceremony and put on a summer reception to gather family and friends to celebrate. Our reception happened this June tucked into the foothills just outside Denver. It was beautiful and special. We were immensely honored and humbled by the people that came.

From mid-June onward, we turned our attention to soaking up every last adventure of our Colorado summer. Because… JT’s PhD application round during the winter proved hugely successful and, in the spring, she was offered positions at not one but TWO PhD programs for the 2025 fall term. The offer made by the University of Oregon in Eugene was top-notch and she accepted. Thus, we drove all over the state and camped, explored, hiked, backpacked, and generally had a great time with friends near and far.

It was a bizarre experience to live our normal lives and do our normal things with our normal people for a few months there, heading towards a departure date in the future. That’s a luxury neither of us are used to, having done plenty of life transitions but usually at high velocity and simply up and going when the journey called. It afforded some helpful realities, but was also a bit surreal and confusing at times.

Nevertheless, mid-September was suddenly upon us and the end of our lease, our moving storage unit (a truck but not quite), and our last church assignments all appeared with sudden finality. Like a final summer before everyone leaves for college, or a final semester before everyone graduates, we spent huge blocks of time with our friends and at our places and doing our Colorado things that last week or so. We had lots of people over; people said lots of nice things; people blew us away with the help they were willing to give us by packing our place and feeding us and helping us fill our moving unit; and we spent plenty of precious moments with people we love dearly.

And then, before I was ready for it I think, it was time to close up shop and say goodbye. We packed up our Subaru with the bits and pieces that weren’t sent off in the moving unit, our houseplants, my guitars, and…

Ah right, one more tidbit. We adopted a dog, Nali (full name Denali). She’s a two-year-old German Shepherd and a beautiful gal and a welcome addition to our little crew. There’s more to that story, but not for this post.

As I was saying, we packed up our houseplants, my guitars, and our dog and drove from Colorado to Utah, to Nevada, to California, to Oregon, and now to Washington. We’ll be headed back to Eugene next week and hope to move into our new place assuming we’re able to get in when we’ve been told we will. Stay tuned on that. JT will start orientation next week. I will be hearing back from an interview for a job on campus, and continuing to pursue long-term employment whether it’s that role that comes through or something else.

Besides all that, not much has happened this year. Until next,

-LS