Just short of 3000 miles!
After celebrating the fourth of July with family, friends, and burgers, we embarked on our journey to our new home. On the morning of July 5th, we said our last goodbyes to Washington. As someone who does not love road trips, I expected the journey to be stressful, but it turned out to be beautiful. God’s creation is diverse. From the mountains in Montana to the green in Kentucky and even the never-ending cornfields in South Dakota, it was all so incredible. I have never been to the East Coast before moving so seeing the country was unreal.
After months of separation, I was stuck in the car with my best friend as we drove 40 hours to our new home. We talked…a lot, admired the drop in gas prices as we continued east, listened to Dystopian audiobooks, and entertained ourselves by trying new energy drinks every day of the drive. In 5 days we made it to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
The military is sort of weird.
We arrived on a Saturday, and my husband had to clock back in on Sunday. Apparently, Gauthiers waste no time. Every day I continue to learn more about the military and the flexibility it calls. Fifty-two percent of the time, Ben works the army’s version of a 9-5 schedule. The other forty-eight percent is anything but “normal.” Sometimes he jumps out of planes until 2 AM. Other times he will randomly have a Tuesday off. It is an absurd lifestyle and nothing I’ve ever experienced.
I love following a schedule. I love making plans. To be married to someone whose job is anything but normal makes me laugh. God has a sense of humor. We’re learning how to accept the chaos of military life. We’re still in the process of adjusting to the circus it is, but I’d like to think we’ve learned how to accept it.
My slight career change.
I found a job and it’s nothing engineering related. I work at a gym which is quite fitting if I do say so myself. It’s a lot less weird when I bring up new strength PRs to the members and my coworkers. I sell gym memberships. Working in sales and marketing is this entirely foreign beast I know nothing about, but that makes the position compelling. I find great joy in learning and mastering untouched skills.
Unlike my job in Seattle, I am currently working part-time and the commute to the facility is 20 minutes when there’s traffic. To give perspective, my old commute was between 1.5-2 hours round trip. Looking back, I don’t know how I was able to do it for a year. Nowadays it takes me a lot longer to finish an audiobook, but hey, I’m not complaining. This has been a much-needed career change, at least for this season of life. God has given me more time. It gives me more time to spend with Ben, more time to spend with friends, and more time to slow down. I’ve been able to have the balance between work, home, and a social life that I’ve been craving for a year.
I don’t know how long I will stay in sales. I don’t know when I will go back to engineering. I don’t know how long I will work at this gym, but I do know that my stress has reduced significantly since picking up this new job. Praise God!
Weekend activities.
When we’re not unpacking or fighting COVID, we’ve been exploring our city. We attended our first Fayetteville Woodpeckers baseball game. We ate some good ol’ Southern food from Cracker Barrel. “Fun desserts Fridays” has officially become a family tradition. Chocolate ice cream in the ninety-plus degrees heat is a must!
Connecting with our west coast family and friends is more doable thanks to FaceTime. We miss you guys dearly, but I’m glad we’re figuring out a system. We’ve tried a few churches in the area, but have not been able to call one home (yet). We’re super close! There’s one we really enjoy and are hoping to get connected with. I’m stoked to see what God has in store. Keep our search in your prayers!
Prayers
Thank you to all who have been praying for us, checking in on us, and have been following our new journey. As we continue to explore North Carolina please continue to keep us in your prayers. Please pray as we continue to adjust to our new jobs. Please pray as we find a church we can call home. Please pray for God to continue to work in our lives. Please pray that we can share the good news of Jesus with the people around us. God is going to do some amazing things and He gets all the glory for it! We love you and miss you. Until next time!
Through Faith & Grace 