...as one chapter ends, another begins. Or something like that. Isn't that how people describe the bittersweet passage of time? I (Emily) was listening to the song "Tenderness on the Block" today by Warren Zevon, and it took me back to a time when my dad used to play it for me and say that it reminded him of me growing up, etc etc. Sadly, I'm all "grown up", Warren has been dead for more than 5 years, and my dad, well, my parents are getting a divorce and my dad's moving out of the house I grew up in, with a mom and a dad and two siblings. I have been somewhat shocked and overwhelmed by the amount of grief I've experienced over this. I thought at 23 I should be mostly immune to my parents lives and decisions, but as Anne Lamott put it, no matter how old you are when your parents die, you're still an orphan. (Not that this is akin to my parents dying, but I can appreciate the "age-appropriate emotion" theme here.) So it's been hard to post anything for a while, because as this has been happening it has been consuming my thoughts and yet nothing was really certain for a time, so I wasn't really at liberty to talk about it. Adam and I are very sad, but he is an amazingly supportive husband and I don't know what I would do with out him.
As far as the new chapter, Adam and I elected to stay in Indianapolis as I shared before, and I will be going to the University of Indianapolis. I am very excited, though it seems very far off and hard to wrap my brain around a time in the near future when things will ever be "normal" again. Still, I look forward to being the best person I can be, and studying and working with people, which is really my life's joy, and I expect it to be very fulfilling. Our lease is up at the end of this month, which means that our apartment is a wreck and in the terrible packing transition, and also that we'll be "homeless" pretty soon. We will be staying at my parents house for a time, though I have to admit it doesn't feel very much like "home" anymore, given the current situation. But I will be "babysitting" Douglass over the summer, and enjoying spending time with my siblings, and giving them as much a sense of normalcy as I know how,
In addition, the real reason for me finally deciding to post all this is that Adam and I have been house hunting, and we made our first offer on a home tonight. So, God-willing, and a lot of paperwork later, we'll be well ensconced in a charming 3-bedroom ranch on the south side in Franklin township. So that is a reason to be happy, and we do feel blessed with this opportunity. It's a bittersweet time.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Adam and I have big things in the works lately, and the only reason I haven't posted is because we STILL have big things happening, but they are not yet finalized. So, I'll tell you what I do know: Out of the 4 interviews I did for grad school (I canceled most of the other ones) I got 3 offers, and I accepted the one at the University of Indianapolis. As much as we would have loved to move to Chicago, we took the high road as far as cost is concerned, and I'm still very excited about the program at UIndy. I love the professors and the resources here, and who knows, maybe we'll move away someday (or maybe not).
So that's the big news from our corner. The other thing is, we got pre-approved for a mortgage, so we're pretty excited about that. We've been doing some preliminary house hunting and we're going out with our realtor next weekend, so hopefully we'll be homeowners soon enough! That's pretty much it for now. When there's more news, we'll share. :)
So that's the big news from our corner. The other thing is, we got pre-approved for a mortgage, so we're pretty excited about that. We've been doing some preliminary house hunting and we're going out with our realtor next weekend, so hopefully we'll be homeowners soon enough! That's pretty much it for now. When there's more news, we'll share. :)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The update you've all been waiting for...
So, since we last posted, the major thing that happened was that I (Emily) got accepted to graduate school. Yes my friends, I'm actually going to be a clinical psychologist. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I got accepted to my top two choices Wheaton College in Chicago and University of Indianapolis. So I haven't posted since we got the good (fantastic!) news because we haven't really decided what to do yet!
I don't really want to say anything else because everything's sort of up in the air...however, I will say that we put in our intent to vacate notice at our apartment, and we have to make a decision about school by April 15th. So, by April 15th we'll know where we're moving, and by April 30th we'll be out of here! We'll let you know more when we know more! But we're excited and blessed by these new exciting changes!
I don't really want to say anything else because everything's sort of up in the air...however, I will say that we put in our intent to vacate notice at our apartment, and we have to make a decision about school by April 15th. So, by April 15th we'll know where we're moving, and by April 30th we'll be out of here! We'll let you know more when we know more! But we're excited and blessed by these new exciting changes!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Skiing Adventures and the latest steps on my quest to becoming a doctoral student
Last weekend, Adam and I went skiing with Mollie and Martin, and we had a fantastic time! Even though we weren't really stressed out about anything, it was nice to have a "getaway" for us. :) Adam snowboarded and I skied. The snow was better the first day and it was so WARM!! about 40 degrees-- we barely needed to wear any winter gear.
This weekend I jetted off to my first interview, at University of Northern Colorado. It was extremely exhausting, but I think it was a good experience. I was able to see the program first hand and what they offered. The actual interview was short and in large groups, so I'm not really sure how much benefit there was there, but I was able to talk to all the faculty members and many current grad students. I feel like now that I'm this far in to the process, I will be lucky to get 1 or 2 offers from schools, and hopefully they will be the best fit for me... I realized that just because you want to go somewhere doesn't make is a good match for you. I am, however, excited to see what the other programs have to offer me and do my next interviews. The only bad thing about the experience was that I had to travel so much in a 24 hour period, and I was ridiculously sick! (I still am.) When I got home, I took today off work from my part-time job and literally slept all day. I'm hoping I feel better by my next campus visit which is next Friday!!
Most of the time we're just happy at home with the birds. I don't think non-bird people realize how much birds influence your life. We're not like those people who treat their animals like their children-- we know they're not like kids! But they are like really intelligent and vocal cats and dogs. As Malcolm gets older, he's developing a really entertaining personality. For example, today I was taking a nap and I work up in a panic thinking I heard voices in the apartment, but really it was just Malcolm talking to himself. :) We rearranged Max's cage this weekend and he's still mad about that. :)
As for Valentine's day... we didn't do much, what with Adam working and me home sick. Though Adam did bring me flowers last night when he picked me up at the airport, which was super sweet. :) We're planning a fondue night sometime soon for our "valentine's day" though Adam says we can do it on some other equally arbitrary day. :)
This weekend I jetted off to my first interview, at University of Northern Colorado. It was extremely exhausting, but I think it was a good experience. I was able to see the program first hand and what they offered. The actual interview was short and in large groups, so I'm not really sure how much benefit there was there, but I was able to talk to all the faculty members and many current grad students. I feel like now that I'm this far in to the process, I will be lucky to get 1 or 2 offers from schools, and hopefully they will be the best fit for me... I realized that just because you want to go somewhere doesn't make is a good match for you. I am, however, excited to see what the other programs have to offer me and do my next interviews. The only bad thing about the experience was that I had to travel so much in a 24 hour period, and I was ridiculously sick! (I still am.) When I got home, I took today off work from my part-time job and literally slept all day. I'm hoping I feel better by my next campus visit which is next Friday!!
Most of the time we're just happy at home with the birds. I don't think non-bird people realize how much birds influence your life. We're not like those people who treat their animals like their children-- we know they're not like kids! But they are like really intelligent and vocal cats and dogs. As Malcolm gets older, he's developing a really entertaining personality. For example, today I was taking a nap and I work up in a panic thinking I heard voices in the apartment, but really it was just Malcolm talking to himself. :) We rearranged Max's cage this weekend and he's still mad about that. :)
As for Valentine's day... we didn't do much, what with Adam working and me home sick. Though Adam did bring me flowers last night when he picked me up at the airport, which was super sweet. :) We're planning a fondue night sometime soon for our "valentine's day" though Adam says we can do it on some other equally arbitrary day. :)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Let the globetrotting begin
Well... I guess it's more like United States trotting, to be honest. I am going to be traveling quite a bit in the next two months. This weekend Adam and I are going on a mini-vacation-- we're going to Michigan to to go skiing with a couple of friends from college. I'm pretty excited.
The weekend after that, I'm off to Denver for a grad school interview, then back to Indy for another, then back to Denver for another, and finally to Florida for Molly's cheer competition in March. The only bummer thing is that the only trip I'll be taking with my husband is to MI; all the others are solo adventures.
I found out this week that I did not get accepted to my top choice school, and I was pretty upset about that. It's hard not to take it too bad, but I understand that Ph.D. programs are uber-hard to get into. (One of my favorite, very talented professors from college applied to 10 programs and got an offer from 1.) All that's left to do is put my best foot forward going to all the interviews I was fortunate enough to land. Wish me luck.
The weekend after that, I'm off to Denver for a grad school interview, then back to Indy for another, then back to Denver for another, and finally to Florida for Molly's cheer competition in March. The only bummer thing is that the only trip I'll be taking with my husband is to MI; all the others are solo adventures.
I found out this week that I did not get accepted to my top choice school, and I was pretty upset about that. It's hard not to take it too bad, but I understand that Ph.D. programs are uber-hard to get into. (One of my favorite, very talented professors from college applied to 10 programs and got an offer from 1.) All that's left to do is put my best foot forward going to all the interviews I was fortunate enough to land. Wish me luck.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
News and photos
Here's the latest from the Johnson home:
*First of all, it is snowing. We didn't see that coming.
*We have a new niece. We said that already. We're really excited.
*I (Emily) have heard from 2 schools and have been invited for 2 interviews (2 for 2!) I heard from University of Northern Colorado this weekend and they want me to come to Greely, CO to interview for a position in their Ph.D program on the 13th of February. While this is very exciting, we need to figure out how we're going to afford the trips!
* We finally got ALL our wedding pictures sorted and albumized, and we put up our photo display on the wall in our dining room and it looks fantastic! We put up a canvas print of our cake cutting surrounded by smaller silver frames of other wedding pictures:
Finally, a picture of Malcolm "hanging around" and entertaining himself:
*First of all, it is snowing. We didn't see that coming.
*We have a new niece. We said that already. We're really excited.
*I (Emily) have heard from 2 schools and have been invited for 2 interviews (2 for 2!) I heard from University of Northern Colorado this weekend and they want me to come to Greely, CO to interview for a position in their Ph.D program on the 13th of February. While this is very exciting, we need to figure out how we're going to afford the trips!
* We finally got ALL our wedding pictures sorted and albumized, and we put up our photo display on the wall in our dining room and it looks fantastic! We put up a canvas print of our cake cutting surrounded by smaller silver frames of other wedding pictures:
Finally, a picture of Malcolm "hanging around" and entertaining himself:
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Welcome to the world, Lillian Kate! (Lily.)
As you can see, Adam and I have a new niece! Her name is Lillian Kate Johnson, and she was born at 9:20 a.m. on inaguration day (1/20/09). 7 lbs, 6 oz. 20 inches long.
We love her!!!
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