Fate is a 2-Week Arrangement

This is the way we ride the cab...ride the cab...

There have been so many days since moving to New York where our "fate" has been decided that it's beginning to seem as though "fate" were a temporary arrangement. So many course-altering decisions have been made (and made for us) that the direction our family is going seems to be swinging on a pendulum that doesn't just go back and forth, but every-which-way. We swing, and swing, and trust that with each swing, our pendulum is getting closer to settling into it's middle.

The BIG question still remains: will we stay?

Today is another one of those fate deciding days. Today, we learn from Bill's employer whether or not the terms they offer for hiring him on as a freelance motion designer (to see the project through to the end - allegedly December, though the speed things are going, could be any time in the new year) will be adequate to support our family and keep us here.

If so, we stay. At least through the end of the contract.

If not...well. If not, the pendulum swings again. Do we secure employment here in the city? Do we pursue leads elsewhere?

Do we abandon all and join the circus?

All the uncertainty can be tricky to maneuver - especially when there are things to consider like preschool (and ultimately school-school!) - but there are some decided benefits to living the life of a nomad.

For example:

I love me some wide open possibilities. Options. Opportunities. Bring it.

NO STUFF! We have gotten really good at not accumulating things. This was essential, what with moving so often from sublet to sublet. But now that we've settled, I have to admit - it is nice to have the clarity of mind that comes with having the clarity of closet-space. You learn real fast what the true necessities are when your family of five has three suitcases to live in (so to speak).

We got to explore New York in a way we couldn't have if we had just walked through all the areas we ended up living in. New York is different block-to-block. We lived in a few different places in Harlem, and there were some areas that were unsavory where I wouldn't choose to settle. And there were some areas that were beautiful, and ideal. Now, if we end up staying longer term, I have a really clear idea of where our family would thrive (one of them being Washington  Heights, where we live! Huttah!).

And - most of all - we've grown so much closer as a family. We've had to cling to and rely on each other more than ever before. It's us against the world, here - and I love the solidarity that it's brought into our family dynamic. We are McCrery - and we are a force to be reckoned with.