Who shot JR?

This is a very bittersweet post to write. The Winn family is leaving Richmond and headed for the Lone Star state. This all began a few months ago when Nate got a call from a recruiter about some job openings in the Dallas area. One of the questions that he was asked was “what would keep you from leaving your current job?” And one of the answers to that was that he really liked living near his brother. So he decided that he would only look at jobs with Jarom, so that they could move together should an opportunity arise. So they both spoke with the recruiter and outlined their wish lists for a job and he told them that he felt very confident that he could find two positions in Dallas that would work out, although maybe not with the same company. After a few weeks they heard from Parkland Hospital that they wanted to interview them. So they flew down to Dallas on Sunday, interviewed on Monday and came back Monday night. They both left the interview feeling very good about the people and the company and the opportunity. Then it was a two-week, very anxious wait. The Thursday before they had to leave for Kentucky, Jarom and Nate had scheduled a golf match against the Bleyls. Things weren’t going well, and they were down two points after two holes. In the middle of playing the third hole, they got a phone call from the recruiter telling them about the offers they were getting from Parkland. It should be noted that they immediately turned things around in the match, winning 6 of the remaining 7 holes, including a game-changing 80-yard hole out for birdie on the 17th. When they got home they shared the good news with their wives, and then told them about the job offers.

Some holdouts from the last post. Lix finishing the deck and Bo in the jumper.

All of this happened about 60 hours before both Jarom and Alixa were planning to be out of Richmond, Jarom to Kentucky and Lix up to Delaware with the kiddos. So they called up their realtor and started cleaning and putting stuff up in the attic so that the house could be listed and people could come check it out while everyone was away, thus eliminating the need to be constantly cleaning and leaving whenever someone wanted to come see it. Given the short time frame, I think they did a great job.

We are all very excited about this new opportunity, and for some reason completely convinced that we will enjoy Dallas. But we will be very sad and miss Richmond. This has been a great job for Jarom, and he has very much enjoyed his coworkers. It is nice to be within a few hours of so many family members, whereas Dallas is not even within a few hours of the state border. And we will certainly miss the many wonderful folks who have become such good friends to us in such a short time. Without a doubt, this has been the place that has felt the most like home of all the places that Jarom and Lix have lived.

But as we learned from Seinfeld [the opposite], the Universe has a way of evening itself out. So all the excitement of the new job had to be offset somehow. Enter the Winn’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It came on Sunday, July 31. Jarom began the day on Saturday evening by driving to Kentucky after finishing most of the work to get the house ready to show. He arrived in Kentucky around 10 and headed to the hospital for his first night shift. As some of you may know, night shifts are not fun. At 7 am he finished up and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep. It was around this time that Lix was getting up with the kids and preparing herself and them for church. Now Jarom would never claim that he is a big help when it comes to getting ready, but at least he is an adult that can put on some shoes or grab some diapers or put a kid in the car. But poor Alixa was all on her own, and Bo decided that he wanted to sleep in, and Jenna was a little bit grumpy. But they did make it to church, where they didn’t have the back open so Lix had to squeeze into a row with some other people and then Bo wouldn’t eat quietly. After church Lix had to make sure everything was picked up and tidy and then she was off to Norfolk to visit her uncle Kevin. It was a sad visit because Kevin has cancer and is not doing very well, but she was very glad that she got to see him. After letting Jenna run around with some of Alixa’s cousins for a while, they packed the car back up and headed north towards Delaware. But Jenna had some scrapes on her legs and wouldn’t stop crying and Bo was fussier than usual, so she decided to stop at Friendly’s to feed the kids and have a break. Poor choice. Jenna fell down again and proceeded to cry for the duration of their stay. Both children pooped particularly messy diapers and had to be changed together on the changing table, which is quite a balancing act. Finally it was back on the road. Around this time in Kentucky, Jarom was waking up and headed out to the car to grab a few things that he had left in the trunk. As he walked past the windows, he noticed a few spots on the back seat, and opened the door to investigate further. It was a fairly hot day in Kentucky, apparently hot enough to blow the top off of the unopened can of soda that had been sitting in the cup holder. There were sticky bits of soda everywhere. The dashboard and windshield were covered, the seats, both front and back, and the ceiling. Jarom headed up to Walmart where he bought some wipes and spent an hour or so scrubbing down pretty much every inch of the car’s interior. He had gotten nearly all of it cleaned when Lix called him to commiserate about her day. They chatted for a bit, sharing war stories and some tears. But it wasn’t over. Shortly after that call Lix was driving through a little hamlet in southern Delaware where the speed limit drops from 65 to 35 and got caught in a speed trap. She was sobbing uncontrollably now, but the officer had no soul and gave her the $130 ticket anyway. Hooray for stupid cops.






But the day did eventually end, and luckily for Lix it ended with her at Nancy’s house, where she could take advantage of Jamie’s wonderful hospitality and spend many hours lounging by the pool. Which is exactly what she did for a week. That house is Jenna’s favorite place in the world. Each morning would begin with Jenna waking up and asking to go play with Hailey’s toys, of which there are many. After playing with Hailey and her toys for a while, she would then ask to go swimming. So it was into the swimsuit and out to the pool, where she would immediately head for the diving board and begin jumping off and swimming around all by herself. And you’d better not try to help her. She was very brave and got very good at maneuvering in the water. There was also a day trip to the Brandywine Zoo and a drive up to Lancaster to see our favorite Amish friends, the Boyds. Jarom even came out for a few days and had a great time swimming with the kids.



And while they were up north they got some more good news in the form of an offer to buy their house. So it only ended up only being on the market for about a week, which was fantastic. There are still the standard inspection and closing hoops to jump through, but they should be out on the street by the middle of September. So now Lix has to really get into her house hunter mode, and nothing makes her happier. As an added bonus our Delaware state trooper friend Officer Dear managed to get Lixi’s ticket taken care of, so we won’t have to deal with that mess. Hooray for knowing cops!

Jenna was very afraid of the goats, but was eventually brave enough to graze its tail

And now Jarom is back in Richmond while Lix and the kids are off to Ohio to visit her parents. Jenna will surely spend her time jumping off of their diving board while Bo perfects his rolling over techniques works on standing up. Jarom will stay busy missing his family and taking care of the myriad things that have to get done in the next month so that this move can go as smoothly as possible. It has been a hectic few weeks, and the next month will be very busy and very stressful I’m sure, but we are all excited about this move.