Brian optimistically applied for the available tenure track job at the University of Northern Iowa, located 20 miles south of Waverly in Cedar Falls. This one of those times when having faith in God’s plan was especially helpful. Even after Brian received the rejection letter from Northern Iowa, he was convinced that everything would work out. And when the semester at Purdue ended and Brian moved back to Iowa without a job lined up for the following semester, we still weren’t worried. After all, we were going to be living together which was what we really wanted. It was a week after moving to Iowa that we got the phone call offering Brian a temporary one year position teaching at Northern Iowa. It wasn’t everything we wanted, but we are hopeful that it might lead to a tenure-track position.
Mariah has settled in well at Wartburg College. She has a 20 minute walk to work which she makes even in cold weather (but not in rain). She is popular with her students, although baking them cookies probably helps. She does have a reputation for writing difficult exams and working her students hard, but at least you learn a great deal in her class. Mariah has become the faculty advisor for the Catholic students group and for the Wartburg Ballroom dance club. Brian has been drafted to put his time in the Purdue Ballroom dance club to good use by teaching occasionally.
We moved into our newly renovated house in June. The 110-year old house needed new plumbing and electrical work, as well as some modernization. We ended up converting the former kitchen into a library, put in air conditioning to go with the new furnace and duct work, and repaired the leaky roof over our brand new kitchen. Once we ran out of money, we moved in. Our new house is a block from the local Catholic Church, which resulted in Brian being drafted to serve on the parish council.
The real excitement of the Summer was when Mariah’s grandmother visited and the river flooded (although Grandma Louise insists it wasn’t her fault). Louise and Mariah’s Aunt Barbara visited for a week to see us and our new house. The last day of the visit the Cedar River which runs through town started rising, and by the end of the day we were evacuated from our newly renovated house. We took shelter with Lynn Olson, the Math department chair at Wartburg, until the waters receded. The waters crested at an all-time high of 21.6 feet above normal. The flood waters didn’t reach our house, but you could see the water from our porch. We ended up storing furniture for our neighbors as they cleaned out their houses after the flood.
We have adjusted nicely to living in Iowa. We enjoy the low cost of living, the low population density, the low crime rate, etc. The town is small enough that everything is within walking distance. Anything we can’t find in town can be found 20 miles away in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area (except Sees Candy), including an airport, shopping malls, restaurants, a job for Brian, etc.
In early November, Brian’s brother Bill announced that he was getting married. The next week, Mariah’s sister Willow announced she was getting married. A week after that, Bill did get married to Natalia in Florida. We are glad that Willow and her beau, Brian (a popular name among Radcliffe women) won’t be getting married for another year, to give us time to make hotel reservations.
As the year (but not the millenium) draws to a close, we wish every one of our friends and family the most joyous of new years. We are reminded that God will provide all that we need and we are all a part of one great plan. May God bless and protect you throughout the year. We hope that the holidays find you surrounded by people who love you.