Vermont, here I come!

So the cat's out of the bag... I'm moving back to Vermont in the summer!  There is one hick-up in my plan though.  I've kept up my Vermont teaching license, however it expires in June.  I have to prove that I took 3 credit hours of professional development pertaining to Elementary Education within the last three years.  I took a writing course, but I'm not sure if that will count.  I am so convinced that this is the time to move back; I really hope that this license doesn't turn out to be a problem.

Anyway, I wanted let you know about why I decided to move back to Vermont.  Reason 1: family.  Reason 2: family.  Reason 3: family.  No really there's more to it than that, but biggest reason to be closer to my family.  My parents will soon make their move up to Vermont (possibly even at the end of this year).  I'd really like to be able to help them with selling the house, moving up, and getting settled in a new place.  Living so far away, I get sad when I hear about extended family gatherings I can't attend.  Thanksgiving and Easter are the worst days of the year.  Soon they will become among the best again!  I might even be spending extra quality time with one family as I make this transition.  I have numerous offers for a place to stay while I look for a job this summer.  Although I REALLY hope that I get hired quickly (nothing against living with family) as I know it will be horrible to be in that unemployed limbo.  I hope to be able to hold off on signing a lease on an apartment until I have a job.  Ideally I'll be able to find a job in the Burlington area, but I don't want to get tied down by a lease just in case I can't find a job there.  I digress...

I LOVE my job here and know how blessed I am to be a part of such a great school.  I believe that you should love your job, but I have realized that there should be more to life is more than just work.  My job is the one thing that has kept me in Kentucky for three years.  I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave until my desire to be in Vermont was so strong that I would be willing to go without having secured a teaching position.  I would also have to be willing to be a substitute or para for a year if I couldn't get a job.  While I really hope it doesn't happen that way, I think it is safe to say that I have gotten to that point.

It is time to get my masters.  I really have not been able to wrap my head around going anywhere else but UVM (my alma mater) to get it.  Unfortunately, I need to be a resident of Vermont for a year until I am eligible for in-state tuition  (out-of-state tuition is OUTRAGEOUS).  So, I need to get that year done with so that I can start taking those classes.

In terms of dating, I've been trying to find a guy who isn't tied down to Kentucky.  Someone who seems like they wouldn't mind moving to Vermont.  Yea, that's so silly.  There's only one real solution to that issue - move to Vermont and hope to find a guy who is intent on staying there!

I can't wait to ski!  Once a year is not cutting it.  Hopefully I'll be able to pull off a season ticket next year.  Also, I really want to work on my snowboarding skills.  Maybe I'll even get my own boarding equipment and new skis.  Oh, the excitement!

There are even more reasons, but I think I will stop there.  In the end it wasn't really a hard decision.  Actually it was pretty obvious.  I am at peace with this big decision.  May, June, and probably July will be quite busy, stressful months for me.  I'm sad to leave Kentucky and the great people I've met here.   I don't look forward to the whole job search process.  But, I am so excited to be moving home!