And so it begins.

I think these past few months have gone by faster than any stretch of time I’ve ever experienced. From the time we got news of Jill’s expat assignment to our quickly approaching departure date, the calendar is a Ferrari strapped to a rocket ship.

Nike moves swiftly when it comes to expat reassignments. As soon as the decision was made, the transition began. Each of the following represents a full story in itself, and yet this is far from all-encompassing the many aspects of our move that we’ve experienced in just a few short months.

We love living in the Portland area, and our family can frequently be found on the Nike campus in Beaverton. We’re creatures of habit, so once we find something we like, we keep coming back. There are a lot of things, as simple as going for a walk around the Nike campus, that we will miss.

Of course, we had a lot of things to complete. TJ had a great 4th grade year. He has really hit his stride with school, friends, and activities. KJ has grown a lot this year, too. She had the same teacher that TJ had for 2nd grade, and she’s one of our absolute favorites! She was great with both of our kids, and will always get a ton of credit in my mind for the growth of both kids. We’ve been blessed with a host of great teachers, to be honest. Springville, we’ll miss you. Go Wolves!!

We had birthday parties to attend, dance competitions and recitals to do, and TJ earned his black belt in Taekwondo!

We decided to sell the house. This meant packing up everything we own. TJ liked using his tools to disassemble furniture, and they had fun playing games in all the empty rooms, including hide and seek!

We also sold our cars. Great job, KJ, washing my Forester for Teacher Ryan. The kids nicknamed this roof rack storage box “The Boat.”

One of the most challenging aspects of the move, for me specifically, was figuring out the logistics of working remotely as the owner of a small business. Five Star Guitars is the best in the biz, and yes, I’m biased, but I also know what I know. This crew is a dream to have on staff. Can’t replicate spending every day around these fine folks, so I am very mindful of the effect it will have on my day-to-day. Gonna miss their presence. I hope Zoom can make for an acceptable consolation prize. Y’all are wonderful.

The amount of work it takes to simply pull off this move at the speed of Nike is exhausting. They do, however, provide a few bits of support to keep you off the ledge. Here, Jill and I are doing a partner-communication exercise meant to keep us on the same page throughout the entire expat experience. Thanks, Julie, for the insightful observations and mentorship. This pic, taken by Julie, was coincidentally also in front of LeBron. I told you we came here a lot!

Finally, and most importantly, we have made as much time as possible for family. When it comes to spending time with family, it never feels like you get enough.

We are going to miss everyone very much, and are already looking forward to coming back to visit! We promise to bring lots of wonderful new stories….and hugs.

Love to you all.