Sometimes a chapter ends in an abrupt and unexpected way, whisking you into the next one with a bit of nervousness and excitement. This past week or so has been one such event...
Last week I was back at Fresh HQ, where a lot of amazing things were being done (as always) 8^D. While up there, I was presented with an opportunity. My name came up with several people when the discussion arose about promoting from within and to fill a recently vacated position.
The opportunity was presented to become a software development director at Fresh. Given the highly collaborative nature of how we do things, my presence would need to be an in office position in order to make this happen. There would be added responsibilities to the day to day work that I'm already doing.
But with that added responsibility comes some added benefits. A salary increase was offered (which included cost of living adjustments) with a bonus to sign and some assistance for relocation. The timeline wasn't overly aggressive either. I would need to do a bit more travel up to HQ in the meantime, but the plan would be to have me full time in the office by July, giving the kids time to finish school and us time to sell (and buy) a house.
To say that this is a dream job scenario is a bit of an understatement. This position puts me in a spot where I can still sling code on a number of projects (we're still small enough that it is all hands on deck) but gives me the opportunity to do a bit more "high level" architecting of solutions, something I've come to enjoy more as a software engineer. It also gives me more opportunity to coordinate and mentor some of our younger developers on various project, which is another thing I've continued to do as a software craftsman (share the love, you know!). The fact that others had mentioned me, despite me not being there on a continual basis speaks to camaraderie I've been able to build with the team, despite the miles apart (they are far more than just co-workers to me). The boost in pay is a welcome appreciation of the skill and responsibility with such a position, and the relocation and signing bonus shows that they value me for what I've done over the years and the potential for what I have to offer moving forward.
So there was a lot of praying, and talking with Jen, and praying, and talking with others, and thinking. We have some family and friends up in Washington, but the majority of our family is down here. There would be a big adjustment to our day to day routines (I'm in an office now) and the girls would have a lot of adjustment to a new home, new environment, and new friends to make. Then there is the logistics of buy, selling, and moving across three states with furniture, boxes, and animals in tow.
The timing of all of this was rather uncanny. I had just wrapped up a bible study series with my mens group in which trusting God more and trust his leading, even if it goes beyond your "expected" or "comfortable" limits. Unknown to me, a close friend had recently applied for a job in town, with the prospect that our families would be near each other, but that fell through. There's a good chance the reason for that was that he would move here and I would be on my way out. We have been looking off and on for a little while now for some land or housing to expand into with no success. Our preliminary searches in the Washington area are showing potential for the budget we have. This offer was made with no ultimatums attached, just an opportunity to take or leave, my standing with Fresh would remain solid regardless. There's an opportunity for some of our family to follow us up there as well. All things that point to God's provision, despite the concerns of travel, house buying, house selling, distance from family, and more.
So we took the opportunity! To say we're excited is an understatement! I'll be heading up to HQ a little more frequently while we work on getting the house prepped for sale and look for places to live up there. Work has been extra excited and supportive with things, and I'm already getting peppered with info and options about where to be.
So here's to the next chapter of life, with all the excitement and challenges it will bring!