For one of my writing classes, I had to write a personal narrative, recounting an experience that impacted my life. While I've been blessed with numerous people and occasions, giving me plenty of memories to put into writing, this one seemed to write itself over the course of the year, taking little effort or time. I thought I'd post it on here, in case some of you didn't really know why we decided to make the move we did.

And because we've been really bad about posting pictures on here, I thought I'd include one of me wearing the new hat I made myself on Sunday. While one of my students candidly reminded me that his mom crochets better than I do, I still like it and am proud of my accomplishment. Happy reading!




Personal Narrative: Open Windows

I once heard, "When one door closes, another one opens. And when that one closes, too, be open minded enough to look for a window." Well, there we were, climbing through a window, being as open-minded and faith-filled as a new couple could ever be.

My husband, Brandon, and I had been talking and hoping, wishing and praying for an opportunity to take together where we could experience a life outside of central Iowa, and ideally the Mid-west, to continue solidifying the foundation of our relationship, and ultimately tuck away some money for the family we'd hoped to have some day. Our search began with hopes for warmer weather, and if Brandon would have had his way, a short drive to the ballpark in Arlington. We focused our attention on metropolitan areas including Dallas/Fortworth, Phoenix, St. Louis and Kansas City. Because Brandon had an opportunity to work remotely, our move relied solely on my ability to find a full-time teaching job. This thought brought stress and pressure on me, not only because we wouldn’t go if I didn’t find a job, but because it’d mean I’d have to leave the middle/high school position that introduced me to the extended family I worked with on a daily basis.

Regardless of what we’d have to sacrifice, Brandon and I decided that our goal to have a family of our own some day would supersede any other goal we had in mind for right now. Eventually we’d have to be in a financial position we felt comfortable with to provide for little ones and that meant moving. As a result, I began updating my resume and all of my online applications in January, only to find that most schools weren't posting vacancies for the following school year until March or April. With generic interest making its way to my inbox on a weekly basis, Brandon and I started focusing less on a move for the current year at the time and more on a move for the following academic year. So you can imagine my surprise, when home with the flu on a Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from a superintendent in the Southwest region of Alaska.

My response to the phone call was mixed: a lot of laughter, a few sarcastic comments and a little curiosity. Reality set in and I was more nauseated by the idea of moving to the tundra than I was from the flu, especially after putting hours into researching districts south of Des Moines. Brandon and I laughed off the idea and skeptically researched this opportunity so we could guiltlessly rule it out. We searched for reasons not to go; but the more we read and talked to others about the opportunity, the more we found ourselves asking, “Why not? When would be a better time to do this? What do we have to risk? What do we have to gain?”

We answered these questions and ultimately decided as a young married couple, with no children, no mortgage and the ability to move with two stable incomes, we’d be able to take advantage of this opportunity with little calculated risk and an opportunity to impact our lives culturally, professionally and financially. We’d have to sacrifice seeing family and friends for an academic year, but we’d be able to come home over Christmas and from mid-May to August if things should work out for a contract the second year. Everything else we’d be sacrificing for this journey would consist of luxuries we’d come to rely on in the hustle and bustle of city-living. And if a village of 400 can survive without these luxuries, so could we, right?

As family and friends learned about the decision we had made, phone calls and emails went from trickling to full-on flooding my free time. Everyone wanted to know what in the hell would possess us to even consider Alaska, let alone sign the contract for the following school year. No matter how we put it, people thought we were crazy. Some people even went as far as to accuse us of being selfish and greedy, trying to guilt us out of moving three-thousand miles away. Luckily for us, we were dead set on going, knowing that the only reason anyone would have reservations about our leaving would be because they'd love and miss us too much to let us go.

By the second week of March, nearly everyone that was near and dear to us knew we were leaving, and plans for our big move were underway. By early April, my letter of resignation was submitted and our tax refund checks, cashed. We budgeted the remainder of our year, placing every spare dime we had into labeled envelopes for shipping, flights, car rental, hotel, food, rent and internet. By May, we had canceled our cell phone service, sold one of our cars and moved out of our own place and into our parents', knowing that we'd need every spare penny lying around to pay for the upcoming expenses. Our flights were booked, and anything we didn't absolutely need was sold, donated or distributed amongst family members to care for until our return.

By the beginning of June, I had created a book of information, including checklists for shipping, emergency contact numbers, banking information, passports, birth certificates and our marriage license. We were carrying our lives in a small portfolio, saving every receipt, and documenting every step we took to get ourselves safely to Alaska. We bundled up what was left of our lives in ten rubbermaid totes and six vacuum space-saver bags, and by our first anniversary, July 4th, 2010, had sent each one out to New Stuyahok, Alaska, hoping they'd be there to greet us when we arrived.

During the month of July, not only did we solidify our commitment to moving to Southwest Alaska, but my younger sister eventually accepted a position in the same district, forcing us to condense 7 months-worth of knowledge and preparation into, at most, two weeks to help her pack. July disappeared, and the closer we came to leaving, the more unprepared we felt in going, even though we knew we had never been more meticulous about the details of an upcoming event. In retrospect, I almost envy my sister for only having a few weeks to stew about moving, knowing that half of the things I spent most of my time worrying about didn't matter.

Just as we knew it would, our departure day crept up on us, making us feel like we still had so much to to and so many people to see before we left that afternoon. We spent the morning shipping off one more bin for Claire, shedding tears with our parents and every other person eves-dropping in our explanations to the postal-service worker, wondering what it was we were sending to Alaska, and why. My mom couldn't choke out a full sentence without thinking about her two youngest children, one-third of her offspring, being 3,000 miles away on "America's Last Frontier." "What if you get sick? Then where will you go? How far is the nearest hospital and how are you going to get there if a bear attacks you?" While my mother never asked them aloud that day, I'm almost certain they were what riddled her brain, as she'd asked them repeatedly throughout the summer. My sense of humor playing on her undying faith was the only way I could respond to her without crying myself, as I hugged her and said, "If I get eaten by a bear, it's what God has planned for me." After a chuckle shared by all, we managed to compose ourselves long enough for the ride to Chicago.

The flight out was more emotional than I had expected, especially considering that I was the one, out of everyone, that couldn't stop the uncontrollable sobs that wracked my body as we hugged one last time. I couldn't stand the look of desperation my parents gave us as we hit the departure gate, and for the first time since signing the contract, I felt like we'd made a terrible mistake. Brandon and I spent the next two hours awaiting a delayed flight, only giving me more of a reason to want to turn back.

After hours of waiting for the delayed flight, our three-leg trip was transferred into a direct flight with another airline at no expense to us. As much as I didn't want to recognize it at the time, it was a sign of the series of silver linings that would come from the sacrifices we had made. Since our move, Brandon and I have experienced our fair share of moments where we're reminded of everything we've sacrificed to be where we are. But for every difficult moment we've endured, we've grown closer as a couple and experienced as much good, if not more, to counteract the low points. I'm really glad we were open-minded enough to sneak out the window and experience the opportunities we have since then.

8 Weeks

After a skyping session with some of my family and friends today, I feel the need to clarify a few misconceptions about life in rural Alaska. 1) Contrary to popular belief, we do not live in an igloo, or know of anyone, for that matter, that does either. While some houses and other habitated structures within the village do not have typical plumbing or electrical wiring, most do. Our house is one of them that does. 2) Due to the Department of Natural Resources, you must acquire a hunting and/or fishing license in order to kill wildlife that is not charging or attacking you. Being nonresidents until July, these licenses are expensive and the tags are outrageous. Brandon is not a mountain man quite yet, but upon receiving all of the aforementioned licenses and tags, you can bet he'll be out hunting and fishing like the rest of the village. 3) We do not have a "snow machine rental" business in town. While there's a good chance we could barter for transportation, it'd most likely be during the "off-season" as most people are on their snow-gos chopping wood or riding to "town" to purchase groceries and other necessities. 4) If you hear me say I was in town the other day, I'm referring to Dillingham. If you hear me say, "the village," I could be referring to any of the following: Togiak; Ekwok; Koliganek; Manakotak; Aleknagik; Twin Hills; Clark's Point; or New Stuyahok. However, I should probably mention that I've only really been off of the runway and into the villages of Togiak and New Stuyahok. 5) When discussing grocery shopping, it's probably safe to avoid all conversation regarding the words "fresh" and "produce" in the same sentence, unless we're in the lower 48. It is also very common for us to go through pounds upon pounds of baking goods such as flour, sugar, eggs and spices. To date, we've used approximately 50 pounds of flour, not because we antiqued the neighbor, but because we've made all of our crusts, some of our noodles, desserts and quite a few loaves of bread, from scratch. 6) Whether you believe that vitamin D and sunlight are essential to maintaining stable mental and emotional health or not, I can tell you from experiencing it firsthand, that from about January 18th until March 1st, I was lacking both and in dire need of anything that would stabilize my mood. 7) In reference to number 6, I have become very good at writing compound-borderline run-on-sentences. 8) I've never met Sarah Palin, nor have I been on any of the shows referencing Alaska. I also will never have any interest in being followed by a camera crew, especially during the months referred to in number 6. 9) Making plans out here is about as realistic as tight-roping the Grand Canyon on cooked spaghetti. If we tell you we don't know when we'll be where, it's likely that we truly don't know. Waiting on weather, planes and pilots are very good reminders that we're just along for the ride and really have very little control beyond what goes in our mouths and what comes out. 10) "This is Alaska" is the most commonly used phrase to date to describe or resolve anything that is inexplicable or requires thought for resolution. It essentially means nothing and everything at the same time. Anyway, in addition to these top ten items, I'd also like to mention that we are doing fine. We do, on occasion, bicker and fight like most married couples, but we're shocked at how much more we love each other on a daily basis, despite the close corridors and stress that living where we work might bring. We love our dogs like they are our children and don't really care when people laugh at us for it, as they will remain our children until we're blessed with human ones. And despite some of your cruel senses of humor to tag us in pictures of awesome weather, perfect produce, or charcoal for grilling, we still look forward to seeing and spending time with you turds this summer. :) Love you all and see you in less than 8 weeks. Brie

Relaxing Sunday

Have you ever had one of those mornings where you think based on certain things its going to be a long and irritating day?? Brie and I had one of those mornings on Sunday. We woke around 8:15 and noticed a small wet spot near the end of the bed. We both had an idea of what it was and since Huxley was the only dog on the bed we had a pretty good idea of who it was. I got up and let both dogs out then went back up to remove the sheets since dog pee is not something either of us enjoy sleeping in. As we uncovered the sheets we kept noticing more and more wet spots until we hit the mother load of pee spots. At that point Huxley and Daisy were confined to their Box. We couldn't imagine Huxley being the only dog involved!! It wasn't the first time we cleaned up pee and lord knows it wont be the last. The dogs were in timeout for only a short period of time.

Once we had the bed stripped Brie had the idea of moving the bed. We don't have a lot of options in our room since we are limited on space. We decided to move the dresser and end table after moving the bed. Once all said and done we both liked the change. We loaded up all of the dirty laundry and headed down to start a morning of laundry and dishes. Two things both of us really enjoy. One thing we will never be without again is a dishwasher!!

Brie was folding laundry and brought up the idea of me making the banana cake that dad makes and we always enjoy. I knew we had some banana's in the freezer for such an occasion so it was settled, I was going to attempt my dad's banana cake. The excitement of eating such an amazing cake blinded us on the fact that we didn't have much sugar and we had no frosting so we decided to walk down to the P-Store and pick some up. Luckily I found enough sugar to make the cake before we left but we still didn't have any frosting so the P-Store journey was still on.

We loaded up all of our winter gear (snow pants, hats, gloves, boots, coats) and headed out the door. We hooked both dogs up outside while we were gone so we wouldn't come home to anything eaten, wet or pooped on. Huxley is kind of a baby and was not happy to see us go. Our trip to the P-Store is not an ordinary trip down the road. One day a few weeks ago Brie and I felt adventurous and took this snowmobile path that we hadn't been on before. We had a couple cans of pop and a few other meaningless items so we could have survived getting lost!! This path ended up being a really cool and quick way to get to the P-Store. We are planning to take a video the next time we go and share it will all of you!

Once we got to the store I headed straight for the frosting only to find Lemon and Coconut as the only options left. I asked Brie if either of them would work and she said "No". I did not argue since I didn't feel like either one myself. We both agreed that making homemade frosting was our best choice so we knew in order to do that we would need some sugar. They had no sugar other than a 30 dollar box of sugar packets. I was not happy. We picked up a few items necessary for living (pop, free cans of enchiladas sauce, and chips) and some other things and headed back home.

Both dogs were very excited to see us walking up the path. Daisy managed to get herself twisted around a pole and Huxley was just shivering. Did I mention is can be kind of a baby?

Our afternoon was pretty laid back and uneventful. Our good friends Dani and Ron dropped off a movie for us to watch and Brie popped some popcorn on the stove and we entered afternoon on the couch. We decided to end our day with a good meal. We weren't sure what to make so we got some cow and moose out of the freezer to make cowoose burgers. One thing about moose it the patties don't stick together very well because its so lean. Both Brie and I found a recipe online that was very easy and we had all the ingredients necessary. We were going to buy some fries at the store but Brie said we had some potato's at the house and we could just make homemade fries. (Saved us about 12 dollars). Our first batch didn't go so well. About a week ago I figured out our fan above the stove was not working and we desperately needed it for the fries. I burnt the first batch which wasted two perfectly good potato's and Brie sliced up another couple and I tried it again. In the mean time our house filled with smoke and the alarms were sounding. Daisy is deathly afraid of the fire alarm sound and was going nuts. We had the front door open, kitchen window, side window, back living room window and back door open to help with the smoke. Took a while but it eventually went away. The 2nd batch of fries turned out a lot better. I didn't burn them so that was the key. Our Cowoose burgers turned out awesome. We topped them with some cheese and pickles and wrapped them in lettuce. We have gone away with eating our burgers with buns. 1. we don't have regular access to buns, 2. Its better for you! Even Hardees has a lettuce wrapped burger.

Our evening ended with some TV at Dani and Ron's. We watched that new show "Secret Millionaire" and "Undercover Boss". Both shows can be emotional but that Secret Millionaire show is pretty neat! Finally someone with money doing something good with it!!

Well that was our enjoyable Sunday. Sometimes when your day starts our rough it can get better. No one likes cleaning up pee in the morning but we made the most of it and had a great day none the less!

I am sorry that I don't have any pictures. Our camera stinks and we are in the market for a new one. Any suggestions or public donations would be welcome! I guess when you go sledding you shouldn't put the camera in your pocket. I also think that when you go sledding while having the camera in your pocket you shouldn't slam into a tree making the camera fall out. Lessons learned!!

Brandon