In my mind, Bozeman was like any little 40,000 in population town. On the smaller side and with lower cost of living. I didn't worry too much that we hadn't found housing. And when I interviewed over the phone for the one teaching position that happened to be open at the high school, I exuded confidence. Of course they would hire me! There probably wasn't anyone else applying for the job in a town like this.
Little by little we started to realize what we were getting into. Bozeman, come to find out, is a coveted place, a gem of Montana, and a whole lot of people want to live here. Cost of living is really high, housing is a premium, and teaching jobs, especially at the high school, are nearly impossible to come by.
It was a whirlwind. Blake traveled ahead to Bozeman while the kiddos and I were cared for by our darling friends, the Sissons, in South Dakota. Every day I scoured Craigslist for a place to live. I sent Blake to several "Open houses." There was such demand for housing that a posting would go up and they would receive dozens of calls in just a few hours. People had to attend an open house with everyone and apply to live there. Nothing was coming together. I started to worry a little. Having cats really limited our already short list of options. I would see a posting in the morning, and it would be gone by the afternoon. It was going fast!
Meanwhile, Blake went to his first day of work and within a couple of hours was asked to interview for a full time job. And on the same day I was offered not the teaching job, but a long term sub for someone on maternity leave for 3 months. I was happy about it. I could help us get our feet under us, but I could resume stay-at-home mom status by Christmas.
Meanwhile, I was still frantically looking for a place to live. I finally turned off the "allows pets" filter and called every place available. I figured I would attempt to charm people into letting us bring our cats. I finally found a condo that was promising. Blake was going to meet them the next day. At the same time, I got a phone call from the high school asking me if I could indeed take the teaching position because the first person they accepted was unable to get a work visa in time. I can't believe this, now knowing what I know, but I turned down the position. Blake had full time work so I figured I wouldn't need to. They called me back the next day and asked me to please come and take the spot for at least until Christmas and then I could consider if I wanted to keep working. I accepted. And it is a good thing I did! Phew! That was a blessing they were persistent!
Blake sold the idea of us to the owners of the Condo (even with cats) and we finally had a place to live. But interestingly enough, the previous tenant wouldn't be leaving until the beginning of September. After two days of driving by myself with the kids across SD and MT, I made it. And we moved into the condo with a roommate. For 2 weeks he lived downstairs and we living upstairs and shared the kitchen. The kids shared our room and we all slept on the floor. It was a unique experience.
Due to the fact that the unit was still occupied, it never was deep cleaned before we came in. Once Ian (our roommate) moved out, I went to work not only organizing all our stuff (that came in just 2 days before school started), but cleaning as well. That was in addition to suddenly being a teaching after a 4 year hiatus. That, I assure you, was quite terrifying! I felt a little rusty. The first day of school I shook as I put together a cup tower for an activity. Who knew it would turn into long term teaching and that I would discover that I thrive on teaching and mothering.
It was also scary to put the kids in daycare. I never had to do that before. I was thrilled to find out there was a YMCA run day care in the high school. I could be near the kids! But they did not have room for Avind. I had a mentor teacher that pushed and we found a way to get him in. It was such a relief. There was space for Collin, but we had an angel of a person, Amanda Stewart, offer to watch for the first month so their son would have someone to play with since his older sister would now be in kindergarten.
It is amazing. I can't believe how things came together for us here in MT. It was so hard. But we did it. We made it work. Our little family came together and made a new life for us here. This little condo was certainly a blessing. It is a beautiful little home with a lot of charm and character. We have laughed and cried and prayed and survived in this home. Our boys have grown up so much in 2 years. I love our master bedroom "suite" on the 3rd floor and the windows that look out to the trees. I have loved walking to school with Avind in the stroller, especially on snowy days when driving looks awful. I love the skylights that bring in so much light. I loved watching it snow from our 3rd floor window fall on the huge sentinel spruce trees. I love hearing the sound of little feet climbing the stairs to find us. I will miss our climbing tree down the road and our walking loop covered in trees.
Little Mountain condo, you have been good to us. We will always remember you with fondness. You became more than a condo, you became a home.
Today we close on our new house. We will be moving to Belgrade. It is an interesting move. We will be in bozeman almost everyday so many things are staying the same. But we will have our own home. And our own yard! Yay! and we hope and pray, neighborhood kids for our kids to play with and grow up with. We are ready to be done neighboring next to collage kids.
I am so excited that I woke up with the sun and couldn't go back to sleep. It is going to be wonderful. But I will always have a piece of my heart here in our condo. Just like a piece of my heart that is in our Chesapeake "Cozy Backyard" home, our Williamsburg "Condo in the Treetops", our DC dorm room, and our Provo "Honeymoon Cottage".
Here we go! On to a new adventure
