"Changes in attitudes, changes in latitudes..."

isn't that a song or something? it is funny how things get new meanings when we stumble upon different life experiences.

for those who do come here, I want to apologize for being so boring. there are fun and interesting things that cross my mind occasionally, but I have to "be in the mood" for just about anything I do.

like my sewing, there are 9.5 inch squares sitting in a pile, waiting for their conversion into functional but unique potholders. itching to get made, but, alas, no time lately. a box of glass beads that are practically calling me by my nick names, and no time. these sorts of things are like free therapy for me. alone time with my thoughts in a creative mode. I can't remember the last time....

Christopher has been a great trouper! he's a wonderful traveling companion, and can usually be satisfied with his selection of activities, or will willingly engage in car and travel games. now that he's learning to read and write, it's even more fun. we took some fun pictures of him in the past couple of weeks, but all the pics are on the memory chip that is overfull, and will have to wait until we have some "free" time to play.

other than that, school has been an added factor in all the move preparation, and even in today. never enough time to fully concentrate and when I do, it ends up being late at night, when I'm too tired. at least, after this final paper is turned in on Mon, a day late, it will be the last one for about 4 weeks.

the moves have been created by opportunities that came knocking, and looked interesting enough at the time, and were really stepping stones to our next stage. for instance, the move last summer would get us closer to family, where we really felt drawn to go for some time now, so it's a good thing. events that changed our nation and plummeting economy, affecting the sale of our house, so we watched as our house sat vacant for 8 expensive months, maybe not such a good thing, but we survived and are looking forward to easier days in the near future.

people say, "don't stress" and I say, we really try not to, but sometimes it just happens. like, "what is next for us?" we have been independent adults for many, many years. we still are, but we just agreed to combine households with the in-laws for a whole list of reasons. in my heart, I know it will be okay.

but then, the stress creeps up anyway. wondering, worrying, planning, trying to figure out where our place is in life, knowing we have all the tools we need in order to continue to succeed, and the courage to see all the changes that led up to this move as opportunities that also came knocking, and maintain a positive attitude all along the way.

did anyone ever say that family dynamics are easy? surely not. I think that I am a magnet for the oddities and extremes in life, which makes the surprises in relationships seem like puzzles to figure out in order to get to the next level.

so, this rambling is why there have been less postings, because this is just a taste of what's running thru my mind as we are now not just contemplating a major household move, but actually in the middle of it. uninteresting and repetitive, there's a lot to do when you move. more to do when you are downsizing and splitting the move into 2 phases. the beauty of it all is that after this move, we will only own that which we can fit on a single trailer, and that which we can move ourselves. we will be scaled down to ONLY that which we want and need, all extra fluff will have found a new home by next weekend.

we unloaded the trailer that my brother loaned us, pulled by the trailer hitch that my brothers made last weekend (thanks guys!), and we unloaded it almost all by ourselves, as in Mike and I. we "had" help that had promised to be there on Sat. when we got in. long story short, Mike and I unloaded the trailer today, Sunday, without any of the promised help. yes, today when I had planned to spend the entire day writing a 3K paper for my class, that was due tonight. even though I had started on it earlier in the week, now it will be a day late as we had to shift our plans last minute. because we were able to sleep in after being so exhausted, got a late start, and then got everything put away except for the long leather sofa. neighbor kids were finally recruited and helped do that one, thankfully. it's supposed to rain like crazy on Monday, so the option of leaving the trailer for another day was not an option. thanks, no-show guys. may you never find yourselves in a bind. it's really a crying shame for adults to be so irresponsible!!! that's all I can say about that, because anything else would be rude and make me want to slap someone!

so, if you've read to this part, then I want to apologize again. life is stressful when you move. on top of the stress, sometimes people's "true colors" come flopping all about for all to see, including my own. I can't remember the last time I cried myself to sleep. I have already taken a ding in my grade for this class, and it's not like I "have" to get an A in every class, but the ONLY reason I'm probably going to get a B in this one is for two late papers, and specifically for THIS lasts paper that I had to push out because the guys didn't show up as they promised. emotions are surely at an all-time high. combining households also brings its own interesting dynamics, which I won't go into at the moment. sure, we'll figure it all out, and hopefully with little to no fallout, but it's just one more thing in the phase of this move that carries more unknowns than most other changes.

in my heart, all of this direction feels like it's the right thing and right place for us to be.

so, on that note, signing out

one more thing: have a Happy Easter in case we are not back in time for that. we do plan to make some Easter break on Fri. or Sat, and we also brought all the easter basket stuffin's so Chris can write his letter to make sure he knows where to find us. I love the holidays anyway, but there's something special to re-live it through the eyes and hands of a little one.