Surprises Where I Least Expect

If you've been following us for a while, you may know that my family and I moved into a new house on New Year's Eve. We survived eight solid weeks of construction while distance learning, working from home, and unpacking. But the projects haven't stopped. There are so many things I want to do that I feel like my mind is constantly racing. I want to plant more flowers, I want to build a tiki-bar, I want to decorate.

I also have so many things I need to do. The laundry has been piling up, the fridge may be a little barer than I'd like it to be. (Probably why I'm currently making chicken nuggets for hubs and me for lunch). I'm not getting to take as many walks as I'd like to take.

I have felt a change in this new home. Despite the chaos, I have found peace in the mature landscape of our community. I have seen my boys turn into hard-working, get-as-dirty-as-you-can, rugged-life kind of kids. They ask more times to play outside with friends than they do to play video games and I am here for that. I feel like we actually take the time to sit together at dinner and talk instead of rushing through it. It seems odd to me that a place could emote such a shift in all of us, but I know they feel it too.

I do a lot of things around here-we all do, but yard work, pool care, outside things-they have never been my thing. Maybe I was traumatized by driving the lawnmower off the bulkhead at our home when I was a little girl, but it has just not ever been my thing.

I've been surprised at myself that here in our new home I've been researching lawn products, planting seed, planting veggies and flowers, and maintaining our pool. And I LOVE it. Having my time in the morning outside all to myself has become a little bit of moving mediation. I'm hoping as my boys dig into our DIY projects this weekend that they will feel the same satisfaction and pride that I do when I look at the sparkling pool and green grass.

I am grateful for our experiences-I am grateful for our new home. I am grateful that there are just so many things to do.

xoxo,

Katy