A Change of Plans

This past week has been a big one.  Mike got a pretty big (and unexpected) promotion at work.  He is now the toy buyer at Kohl’s.  That means that he is in charge of the toy department for all of Kohl’s.  If a toy wants to come into Kohl’s, it has to get by him first.  We are super excited for it and I’m so proud of him.  At the same time, one of Mike’s best friends has taken a job at Pet Smart in Phoenix and is leaving Milwaukee.  All of this change has led to some serious introspection on my part.  See, Milwaukee has always been somewhat temporary for us.  We thought we would come out here, get a good start on Mike’s career and then move on.  Retail itself is a fairly transient field – people are switching companies frequently.  A lot of our friends have  moved on - it just seemed natural that we would eventually too.  At first we thought we would be here 5 years, and then we thought we could do another 2 or so, and then maybe a few more after that.  But after 6 years, Kohl’s has been really good to us and this latest promotion changes things.  This could be it.  We could very well be here long term.  As I watch our friends go through the transition of going to another company I am struck with a realization.  I don’t think I want to leave.  I have dear friends here that I consider family, this is the only place my kids have known, Mike really enjoys his job and we have some serious roots here.   We will probably never be moving much closer to family, so moving would just mean starting all over in a new place where we know no one.  I never thought I would say it, but Milwaukee really has become my home, and in spite of it’s flaws and shortcomings, I think it will be home for a long, long time.   It’s quite the change in our plans, but change is good, right?