Moving

When we were younger, moving was an adventure!  
What would our next home look like, our new town have to offer?
Which restaurants or local stores would become our new favorites?
Who would we meet and then become our good friends?

Now I find that the older I get, the more I just want to stay put. 
Because everywhere you live and then leave, you also leave behind a part of yourself.
That's the hardest.
My children also realize this and they, too, have mixed feelings.

Would I feel as sad if it were January, not June?  Probably, but leaving my home when everything is blossoming , my peas are producing, butterflies are fluttering about and the fire pit is begging for marshmallows.....is just that much harder.


I remind myself daily of the reasons we wanted to move in the first place.
And when I'm packing box after box and wishing I was somewhere swimming instead,  I think of family holidays to come, sunsets in farm country, the sound of irrigation sprinklers in summer and all of our old favorite places.

It helps.


Content copyright © 2011 by Jessa at Graceful Landing

Dads

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
Then God combined these qualities,
There was nothing more to add,
His masterpiece was now complete,
He lovingly called it, Dad.
~Author Unknown

 

For Fathers Everywhere

How grateful I am for the men in my life!





Be sure to pause the music player below in order to watch this video.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

What is summer without dessert made from the delicious combination of strawberries and rhubarb?

 

If you love it like I do, then you'll love this recipe.

Go here and enjoy!

 

Multiple Choice

May was a crazy month around here because:
A. We experienced heavy snowfall
B. We got a new puppy
C. My daughter turned twelve
D. We sold our house
E. All of the above!

Can you guess the answer?

                                Puppy love is very real.
                       It also breeds jealousy on occasion
                        but, all in all, it's a very good thing.

                                      ((Meet Finley June. ))

                          My little girl is a young lady now.

                     She and her friends are growing up.
                  (But they still know how to have fun!)

           I mean, what's a birthday party without a friend being tied  to a tree?

                              And finally, we sold our house.  
Lots of mixed feelings here- I get a little vaklempt when I think about it too much.  Lots of good memories here, great friends made and I will miss my backyard views.

Right after we made the deal, a powerful thunderstorm swept over the house.  I waited for it to pass before heading to the store to pick up a few things.  I was feeling a tangle of emotions and was even a little shaky.

As I started to leave the house, a brilliant rainbow appeared, then became a double rainbow.  
This picture can't possibly do it justice.
As I slowly crept down our road, not wanting to miss a moment of it, I looked around the neighborhood.  No one seemed to be out witnessing this event.

I suddenly felt that it was for me.

Okay, maybe there were others it was meant for as well...but I experienced an amazing feeling of exuberance and peace.
A knowledge that a new chapter is ahead and that everything will be alright.                  
 
Someday.
Someday....
Life will feel somewhat 'normal' again.
I will be able to truly focus on only one or two or five things at a time.
I will wish once more that I had something to do...because I'll be maybe just a little bit bored.
This intensely stressful period of my life will become nothing more than a distant memory; with good lessons learned.
I will look back on this time with wisdom and gratitude and a new outlook on the simple things of life.


But for now, there is work to do!
(Just a warning that my posts may be a bit sporadic over the summer.)
Thanks for bearing with me.   : )