A Family Decision

The deadline to register for the Nevada Bar Exam is March 1, and the process of gathering information and completing the form takes a few weeks, at least. Today is February 22. As I’ve known for a few weeks now, I won’t be taking the Nevada Bar this July. I’ll be taking the bar exam in another state. That is the beginning of a huge process of thoughts and feelings about the future. Actually, it’s not the beginning. This has been in the back of my mind for the longest time. The bar deadline is the line in the sand that has brought everything to the forefront and forced me to draw some conclusions. It is a difficult and emotional set of decisions which we are in the midst of right now. I could fill more than my share of cyber-space sharing all my thoughts and feelings. I’ll try to share highlights as I go along without wasting thousands of words. That also will be difficult!

The best way to sum up where I am at is to say that this is a “family decision,” but I mean that on many different levels:

First, we desire to be closer to our extended families. They live in Indiana, Michigan, and Georgia. Closer can mean a lot of things, but we want to be able to drive to them instead of fly to them. That is a big part of this.

Second, Rebekah and I know that our kids love their grandparents and their aunts, uncles, and cousins. They love our kids. Rebekah and I could use more weekend getaways from the kids, even occasional longer getaways from the kids. Our extended families could allow that – heck, they would love it. Many of our Vegas friends have pitched in to help us get away without the kids on occasion. But it’s always tough to figure out. This way should be easier.

Third, we’re also committed to Rebekah being a stay-at-home mom. There are places where that will be easier to afford than Vegas. Not that it couldn’t happen here. But with the spike in housing prices here, there are financial advantages to a single-income family to live in other places.

And, last but not least, we don’t know if we’ll have another kid. But if we do, living closer to relatives will really help. It could potentially even influence our decision.

So, with mixed emotions about being farther from all of our friends in Vegas, who really have become a family also, we are making a “family decision” to get closer to our roots. That’s the best way to begin talking about this. We anticipate making this move in late summer. So much more to come.