Letters from Pemberley

For those of you who didn’t know, Derek and I spent the beginning of last week out in Malibu, CA, visiting Pepperdine University, where Derek has just accepted a tenure-track position as a law professor!

Yep.

California, here we come. 

It seems like it’s been a long process, but the offer came in just two weeks ago, and we’ve spent the past few days in a whirlwind of praying a lot, talking pros and cons, and envisioning moving our family away from the midwest.  It’s not what we’d expected.  When Derek filled out the Pepperdine application this fall, I rolled my eyes and told him the school was in the same category as Mississippi State and University of Montana–just not options for this midwest girl!  But then he interviewed and really hit it off with the faculty.  My change of heart started when he called me from his campus visit in Malibu back in November…he was more upbeat about work than I’d heard him in years, and his tone of voice just reminded me of my Hillsdale Derek, the one who stayed up until 2 am talking theology or law or politics with his Galloway Hall cronies.  The lousy winter we’ve had here in State College probably helped convince me that maybe year-round sunshine wasn’t such a bad thing.  Seriously, it was sunny and 60 in Malibu during our whole visit.  We ate lunches and dinners outside while my mom and the kids were stuck inside in 8 degree weather here in State College.

Because I’m almost 34 weeks pregnant, I had to fly out to visit the school before tomorrow if I wanted to at all, so in the midst of Tommy’s birthday celebrations, we rushed to get my mom out here to babysit, booked plane tickets, obtained copies of all my medical info just in case, and flew out last Sunday night.

First of all, my impressions of California in general were based on a 72 hour road trip we took there in ’05 with Kaitlyn while Derek was interning in Scottsdale for the summer.  Oh, it was beautiful, but I didn’t feel the need to ever return.  I dislike big cities in general, and LA didn’t impress me as we drove across it.  Well, it turns out that Malibu and the Conejo Valley (where we’ll likely be living) are nothing like LA.  They’re almost an hour from there, very suburban, and very easy to navigate.  This won’t be another detested Chicago-like experience where I’m suffocated in the unfriendly hustle of a dirty big city.  It’s hot, it’s different, but it’s liveable.  We got to meet all the junior faculty and many of the senior faculty, and I really liked all of Derek’s future colleagues.  By the time we move there, all the other junior faculty will have kids (some our kids’ ages), and that in itself is huge.  (In all of Derek’s jobs since law school, we’ve been the oddballs for having a family.)  I really liked all the faculty wives I met, and some of them stay home with their kids, too!  I see real potential for friendships there, and we haven’t even visited a church yet.  I’ve also heard great things about the local homeschool organization.  We agree with the school’s mission, and most importantly, they get what Derek is all about.  (As a wife, there’s nothing like having your husband be valued for what he does well!)  We just seem to fit in at Pepperdine.

So…it’s going to be hard.  We are moving so, so far away from our families and most of our friends, and airfare is not cheap.  There will be a lot of adjustment as far as culture shock and cost of living (!!!).  But God has really worked in my heart to confirm that this is the best thing for Derek’s career AND for our family.  We both have peace about our decision, and we’re actually both fairly excited at the prospect.

At this point, we anticipate finishing out the semester here at Penn State, packing up mid-summer, and roadtripping across the US to arrive in Malibu early August.  Right now, we need some wisdom as we consider housing options and try to fit in as much time as possible with loved ones in this part of the country in our last few months here in State College.  Oh yeah, and we’re having a baby in 6 weeks, give or take.  So please be praying for us!