Friday, May 28, 2010

We Made It To May!!!

As we plunged through our first week here in Missouri this past December we were greeted with frigid,freezing, sub-zero, super cold kind of weather. It seemed so far from home. We were given a bonus week off of school which delayed the girls getting started into a routine, but did allow us more unpacking time as well as time to adjust to our move.

As the weeks wore on the girls definitely (but not surprisingly) had adjustments to make. We missed our Virginia house, our Virginia friends. We missed that thing called FAMILIAR! School seemed to be the biggest bump in the road and proved to be a giant hurdle. We went from a PK-5 school of 600 to a K-8 school of 200. I found myself saying to the girls...."We can make it to May! Let's just make it through the school year and we will be OK."

As we started this week (our last week of school) I recalled those bleak winter mornings and days when there were lots of tears, lots of skypes,emails, long talks and letters. And I remembered our mantra of "Making it to May!!"

Wow! a lot has transpired in our lives and while there is still a bit of adjust ment taking place we have Made it to May and there are so many things that we love about our new home. We love that Daddy can be with us and has a wonderful job and that we are able to get to know his family better. We love our nice yard and being "in the country" and we are starting to enjoy the fresh fruits of our garden. We have gotten involved in a church and are a part of a small group and are forming friendships with those families. Eric has seemingly picked up where he left off 20 years ago. He loves being outdoors and has been fishing and has a "hankering for some hunting too." He loves gardening and taking care of our property ....or "God's property" as he calls it. He has wasted no time getting in touch with his inner-country boy!

Ellie graduated today! Her teacher commented about her "social" abilities and her love for life. Her adjustment has probably been the easiest....though she is starting to realize that there is "no" pool this summer. That could prove to be a real dilemma. Although when I ask her what she wants to do this summer besides swim, she has replied...."Reading and Math!" So, I am all set for that!

Kathryn and Julia had the most social adjustment being the new kids on the block...or should I say new kids on the rural route!! Kathryn plunged in with both feet and formed great friendships with her involvement in the band and creative and talented class. She and Jade (right) helped out in the library. Julia was my hold out. In fact a few months ago her room was adorned with a huge paper chain denoting the exact amount of days left until summer break. She kept tedious count and atleast twice a week she would give the family an update of the summer countdown. But today as I saw her leave her class she was surrounded by girls and smothered with hugs..."Bye Julia...Bye Julia...Do you have my number?" What a blessing it was to see her graciously overcome this struggle. Of course I have no pics of her at school because she told me she would die a thousand deaths if I even tried to whip out my camera to snap a picture of her and her friends. She took her own camera to school and took lots of pictures. What's a mother to do?
As for me I think I denied any adjustments on my part at first, but I certainly have had my times and trials of adjustment. I will say warmer weather has helped and I am actually looking forward to the girls being home this summer. We made our list of summer goals and we all are looking forward to working towards them. Of course I did promise them one week of laziness....sleeping in...and plenty of planned nothingness! So officially in about two weeks we will begin our summer fun!

Today we used the rest of my graduation money to go out and celebrate at the girls' favorite new place! Cheers! We made it to May! ahhhhhhhh!! Bring on the summer!

Friday, May 21, 2010

What will you leave behind??

Ah, spring time....garage sales and estate sales seem to be popping up all over the place here in Missouri. They are a little different out here as most of them begin on Thursday and run through Saturday. And Saturday I am told....is slim pickings! So Thursday as I drove through town I saw a sign which must have had some magical magnetic force. My car immediately veered off the road and pulled up to the estate sale that was advertised along the roadside.
Though the house was in certain need of repair it had a natural charm to it. All hardwood floors, just that old house feel. It had the coolest screened in veranda on the second floor that I thought must have been a favorite spot for whoever lived there. Everything in the house was tagged and I started out on the first floor and walked around. Of course my mind went crazy trying to imagine who lived here and what they would think of everyone "going through their things". Someone's lifetime of accumulation laid out in categories, tagged and up for grabs!

The person was obviously a doll collector. That in and of itself was interesting... there was everything from doll clothes, stuffed dolls, porcelain dolls, creepy doll heads and other doll parts. Some were new, some were used and some just downright freaked me out. There was one room that had nothing but doll stuff in it, as well as other dolls scattered around the house. It would be a little girl's heaven!

Dishes and knick knacks also filled the house as well as other varied collections. Full sets of dishes, partial sets of dishes, random mugs and and pots and pans were set out from the basement up to the top floor. There was even a collection of rolling pins....12 to be exact; all shapes, all sizes. . And wow, when I went down to the basement....yikes! There was just gobs and gobs of decorations, gadgets, old furniture, canning supplies, parts of this...some of that! This person did not get rid of anything. I was amazed that even though I had no idea who lived there I could tell a lot about them by what they left behind

My thoughts shifted to thinking about what people would find in my estate sale! Of course there would first be the collection of coffee mugs and the ever lingering smell of coffee beans that would be immediately evident as you crossed the threshold. It would be easy to spot the fact that at one time in my life I enjoyed scrapbooking. I am a sucker for anything "office supply oriented" so I am sure my estate sale would have all kinds of notebooks and things of that nature. They would assume that someone in the house was obsessed with children's literature and varied book series as well.

Of course I was a little panic stricken at what would happen if they had to go through my house today! They would certainly find that pile of stuff I have been meaning to go through....or those tubs of things I moved out here that I need to probably be downsized. It is not that I don't have the time to go through them I lack the motivation! Moving so many times has helped me downsize quite a bit, but there always seems to be something that is in excess!
Do you ever feel suffocated by stuff? Closets brimming, piles looming? We just moved and I thought I had cleaned out before the move. But I still see excess and stuff, or I find myself thinking about when we will get more 'stuff'. I mean I actually bought something at that estate sale!(No! not a doll!)I couldn't resist the croquet set now that we have a massive yard.

I assumed that the person in this house most likely passed or had moved into a smaller dwelling where she could not take most of her things. And really, though she left all this stuff behind, her lasting impressions would have come from who she was. I found myself thinking about who she might have been and shifted my "I wonder what people will find at my estate sale" thoughts to....What will be my lasting impressions...what will I leave behind for people to remember me for? I left challenged to remember that it is not about the stuff or the status but about who we are that will make a lasting impression. I know I will think about that each time I play croquet.Now to get to those piles!!