New Careers Impacting Life Styles

In July, I accepted a new job. This new job was supposed to require my working in Paris, France two to three weeks every month. Most of the people on this project team were alternating weeks between Paris and the United States. Deciding on whether or not to take the job was very difficult. Doing so would mean that I'd only be home with my wife about 1/3 to 1/2 the time. And, if she were to get pregnant and have complications, I'd have a difficult time getting home quickly. However, it was also a dream-job, an opportunity that might not ever come happen again. After much deliberation, we decided that we'd give it a shot. I asked my wife to give it a year. After which, if it was stressing our relationship, I'd quit and find something else.
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As fate would have it, I ended up not working in France after all. It was decided to move the North American project team's headquarters from Paris, France to Nashville, Tennessee, USA. I was to remain working in Kentucky until September 19th, 2005. Afterwards, I'd be spending 4 days a week in Nashville for the next nine months. The car trip takes about three hours. I am to be there by noon (EST) on Monday and get to leave mid-afternoon on Thursday. This means that I'll be home all weekends and able to get back to Lexington quickly if necessary. It is still a great deal of travel, but it beats spending every other Sunday and alternating Saturday at airports, flying half way around the world. It also means that I'll be spending four nights each week sleeping at home next to my lovely wife.

In August, my wife also got a new job. She would be teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) at a middle school in Lexington. This was not her ideal job. Her college degree was in middle grades English and History. ESL has many unique demands and requires tracking and planning for each student individually. There is a great deal more paperwork and less repetitiveness than teaching "normal" subjects. The new job is keeping her extremely busy. The high-demanding work and stress seems to be doing a wonderful job of keeping her mind off of the past miscarriages. She has been working there now, for over a month. I have noticed that she is no longer extremely depressed. She is more tired and more stressed out, but no longer as sad. She still has a ways to go though, before I'd consider her genuinely happy.