Five minutes can be important

The Professor has been quietly looking for another place of employment for some time. It's a secret thing that only select family and select friends (and you) know about. We never put it out in public that he's seeking. We never put it on Facebook, either, so if you see me on Facebook remember: Mums the word about 'the search'.

In the house, it's another thing entirely. 
Every so often, tears are shed over "a move".

We've had to explain to the kids, Mini-Me particularly (Who really doesn't like surprises like moves and changes of plans).  We've been careful to say that we don't know what is going to happen. The process is what it is. We search. We ask some questions. That doesn't mean we're moving there. 

Our process is two fold. The Professor finds a place that looks like it might be an interesting place to work. Boring is not an option for him anymore. We visit a salary calculator that converts his current salary/location to the possible location and shows us what he might need to earn. It's an equal thing. What he earns here - they show the equivalent for the potential location.

We've learned that there's no way he can earn a good living on either coast or Chicago.  Just thought I should tell you.


Then we go to HSLDA to check how the homeschool rules affect the potential state. (they've recently changed this website and made it harder to see the states. I liked the color coded version they used to have. Red was harder legislation, Green was very light legislation (or none). Of course there was the middle ground.  Oh, well. I'll have to learn how to use the new map - it's neither here or there. It's what we do. Those are the two things we check. 


So then if those things are considered good in our eyes, we might go to the next level of applying for a job.


Needless to say, calling out, "How about Kansas?" or "What about Wyoming?" leads for some interesting conversations around the house. 


The kids, being the smart buggers that they are, figured out pretty quickly that 'a move' might occur. Each have taken that knowledge in their own ways. Mostly, they've gotten used to it all by now. We've been at this a while. 


Still... despite the fact that it's a possible occurrence, every so often one of the kids talks about it 'the move'. Brings it up randomly, in fact. 


One day, J-man told me, in one of those random moments, "Mom, if we move, I'm really going to miss the box man." 


The box man is our UPS delivery guy.  He delivers mostly at Christmas, Birthdays and school year beginnings. So I guess we do see him a lot. Especially if we include the random things I randomly order over the internet. 


He's got a dry sort of humor and he makes me laugh. He always has a funny thing to say to the kids. A dog biscuit for the dog. And we make him laugh and we give him food sometimes. 


That J-man would miss him amused me but I knew it was something I had to share with our box man. I told him just this week. He was floored that he would be among the people in this list of 'missable people'. 


I realized at that moment, how important five, reoccurring minutes can be. 


Five minutes over a long stretch of time can be ... life changing. 


I don't want to waste them.
I don't want to miss them. 
They might be more important than first realized.