Moving can be stressful on anyone, but moving with kids is a recipe for disaster. Thankfully, my kids are borderline superheroes and the 900 mile journey to our new home went off without a hitch. Well, at least for me.
I got to drive the moving truck so my only companion was the open road and my dog Andy. The car full of superheroes trailed faithfully behind my truck as we bobbed and weaved through canyons, plains, mountain passes and enormous river gorges en route to our next great adventure.
Now that we are settled in and everyone is set in their routines I found a spare 2.5 minutes in my day to jot down a few thoughts about our new life and the exciting challenges it brings. Salem, Oregon is just about as different of a place as you can get from Carbon County, Utah. It’s green, wet and muggy as all can be, in fact when I was deciding which law school to attend the faculty here confidently told me of Salem’s mild climate, where it never gets hotter than 80 and never colder than 45. The day we moved in Salem set a record as the hottest day in recorded history for the region, 106…
The difference between heat here and heat back in Price is that when it’s hot in Price you can step into a shadow and get cool. That’s not the case in the Pacific Northwest. When it gets this hot, you stay this hot, period. Luckily we are a short drive from the coast, where things are significantly and delightfully cooler, and we have found ourselves on the beaches of Nescowin and Lincoln City as often as time permits.
As far as school goes, it has been everything I expected it to be. Long hours spent reading enormous case-loads of information and applying it in a new manner of thinking. It’s like drinking from a firehouse and being asked to remember every drop of water. I quickly found my niche, the subjects that interest me and those that… do less so.
Nearly a month in and I’m only certain of a few things anymore. First, that the law is unbelievably complex and there is rarely a straightforward answer to anything. Second, that Legal Research and Writing is a course the American Bar Associating consulted with Satan before instituting. And third, that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
I’m not sure when life will take me back to Carbon County so right here and right now I’m going to spend my time enjoying my surroundings, taking in as much knowledge as I can and having the time of my life with my kids.
Beginning a new life in a new place
Nathaniel Woodward