It’s been four years of life since I made my last entry!? Where has the time gone? We have been busy, battling depression, advancement, great times, tough times… It seemed a bit of a milestone and a time to write as I look back on our time in Walla Walla, Washington (we’re in Belgrade, Montana now) as we finally paid off our first credit card bill.

It’s not a small thing, as many of you know. It’s been a long road – an issue first created by our professional aspirations and finally, 4 years later, beginning to resolve. It’s been a long road.

If I pick it up from where I left off, I was trying to get a job.

I did, eventually. After applying to quite a few places, I got a call on the side of a mountain, in the rain, collecting firewood, from the Web team at my old university, Montana State (MSU). The Director, Brett, told me that he had spent a summer cutting trees and firewood in Vermont. For some reason, this short discussion with him sold me. I had been really sore about giving up working full-time for my own company and somehow this Director talked me into an interview on the side of that mountain.

They offered me an entry-level, one-year contract to help dig them out of support tickets and development on their various web applications, including their content management system. I worked hard, late, extra, and on any extra project they would give me. Somehow, I was able to slough off my soreness about moving away from my own business and really dive in. It’s been great! I have been there for nearly 3 years now and while it’s been tough at times, I have found it extremely rewarding to be useful and part of an extremely capable team.

While at MSU, I have moved from a one-year contract to a full contract, then from a Developer to the Assistant Director of the team. This has been a two-fold boon. One: I have had the opportunity to learn and experiment with leadership skills and tactics. Two: the pay increase has finally allowed us to start paying down our debt.

What else happens at this point in people’s lives when they get settled? They have kids.

Ah, but before I continue I need to add that we did buy a house in Belgrade, Montana (where I’m sitting now, writing to you.) It has been an excellent place and has made us feel more solid than we ever have, especially in our travels chasing our careers. So here we are – and with a solid gig for me on the books, it was time to level-up on our adulting.

We had always discussed adoption, my partner and I. And we’re nearly there. It took us just over two years to get placed with a kiddo. We went from direct adoption, all the way around to fostering through the state. We may not end up with this kiddo (we sure hope we do), but it has been amazing to see him grow, heal and begin to thrive.

What’s next?

I will continue writing about our lives, perhaps do some flashbacks, and continue writing about how we deal with our depression and hopefully begin to build something more solid for ourselves. And, perhaps pass down something to our kiddo.