ON THE MOVE

Monday, once again, as we returned to the weekday schedule. Both children seemed well rested and walked down the stairs to sit at the coffee table this morning. They enjoyed their Brown Cow maple yogurts - Sage with pecan maple granola and Cinnamon without the granola - and then dressed for school whilst I prepared their lunches and wrote in Cinnamon's school journal.

'Mama, it's dusty' said Sage as he opened the front door this morning to go to school.

'It's foggy' I replied. All of Austin and Cedar Park was covered in a dense fog most of the morning and there were several accidents on the freeways as a result of the fog.

Although the bus stop is within walking distance, I had the children get into the car so I could drive them and so I could avoid the cedar pollen as much as possible. By the time I return from Ireland, the pollen will have subsided and I can once again walk outside without severe consequences. As the children got onto the bus and the bus drove away, I headed in the opposite direction to the gym. Despite being tired, I needed to get out of the house for a while.

After the gym, I returned home where I stayed the rest of the day until I had to pick up the children from the bus stop. As I was eating breakfast, an email from my landlord arrived in my inbox. He inquired about my extending my lease in April or finding another place. I did not reply until late in the evening but this prompted me to go to my computer and continue my search for another place to live come springtime.

My initial criteria are affordability and safety with good schools nearby. The affordability part is the most difficult as rents in Austin are quite high compared with buying a home and paying the monthly mortgage. I found five homes which might be options and have heard back from one realtor within two minutes of my inquiry.

After picking up the children from the bus stop, we drove to the location of the one home which was located six miles from our current place. The photographs of the interior were beautiful. Most of the inside was renovated and there were wooden floors throughout the entire house - upstairs and downstairs and even the stairs. However, the neighbourhood I did not think to be the right fit for my children as the front yard was on a main road.

I searched all of the Austin area and found one option in Southwest Austin albeit with a slightly higher price. My wish is to find something soon so I am no longer on the move and can begin to unpack some of the boxes which have been sitting in the garage these past few months.

Moving is something I have done too many times in my life and nothing I wish to continue doing for too much longer. Buying a home would be ideal but a steady job is needed. This year will be filled with many challenges but nothing so grand as the challenges experienced last year. One step at a time, day by day, minute by minute. At one point, all of the pieces of the puzzle will come together.