A long overdue update

Hello everyone,

I'm so sorry for the lack of updates lately. If you read the Dear Cadence letters, you've probably gotten some idea of the ridiculousness that has been going on over the past few months. Things seem to be settling into a less awful, much more breathable state these days, so hopefully we'll be able to be a bit more consistent about writing and thus keeping you all in the loop.

So where to begin? It's difficult to summarize the last few months, but for the sake of time, I will do my best.

Leaving Kentucky was difficult, but we were excited to give our lives some forward momentum and begin on the right foot in our new home. While we, as people and as a family, have definitely been able to do so, the world seemed to be falling down around us. The biggest hiccup in our plans to hit the ground running was the apartment we moved into, which, despite our best efforts, was not exactly the home we had been hoping for. Aside from numerous small defects and annoyances, there was a major environmental hazard in that apartment that made me incredibly sick. After I landed in the hospital and was told by my doctors that it would be dangerous to continue living there, and having consulted with a lawyer specializing in housing law in the city, we made the hard decision to break our lease and move our family to safety.

Since the legal aspects of all this have not yet been resolved, I won't go into the details all here, suffice it to say that we have some major 'Thank You's to give to the folks at the NYU Law School. Thanks to them, we have now been in a gorgeous, safe, very conveniently located apartment in the village for the last month or so, and it has made a world of difference. All three of us have been feeling like renewed people, with more energy, and the ability to enjoy life in a way we hadn't even really noticed we'd lost, but to have it back makes the whole planet seem more welcoming, and it once again feels like anything we dream is in reach.

And there is a lot of good news in the mix, too, again, if you read the letters I've written to Cadence you'll already know our biggest and most exciting news: that we're expecting our second child! He or She (we don't yet know which, and are on the fence about finding out or not) is due to arrive in April (the 26th is the 'due date' but of course, that's not something to put too much stock in!) and we're all very excited, and gearing up for our new arrival.

And I am extremely happy to report that the thing that actually brought us back to the city is paying off and making it all worthwhile: James thriving as a law student. Yes, it is a lot of work, and he has to focus a lot of his energies on his studies, but seeing how much he enjoys it makes it seem like a small price to pay. I have to say, he's done extremely well at still giving Cadence and I all the love and attention we need (sure, we'd like more time with him to just play, and hang out as a family, but we certainly don't feel ignored or rejected, and even if he's doing homework, having his presence there, and tickles during two minute breaks, makes it feel like we're all in this together), and given how much his teachers seem to appreciate him it seems like he's doing a decent job of keeping up with his work, too. I'm very proud. Plus, he's finally found a calling, something he is passionate about, that is his dream-and he is actively pursuing that, which is wonderful, healthy, and bringing a very vital energy into our family that I wouldn't trade even to make the last few months of yuck disappear.

So we are here, doing well despite some undue stress, looking forward to the holiday break and on the hunt for a new, hopefully longtime home. It's been a rough few months, and a transition that hasn't quite landed yet, despite bumping the ground a few times....but, we have many wonderful friends, and amazing family (immediate and extended), and now even teachers and administrators within the law school who have created a strong support network for us, and we're heading optimistically into the future.