Changes

 Just traveling along the road-

 

Enjoying the scenery.  Smelling the flowers- 

 Watching & living the seasons as they come and go.

 And then there's a curve.  Sometimes unexpected.

 And then a warning sign.  Not only is the road ending, but it's means changing directions.

 

 And that means stop.

The stop sign appeared very abruptly this morning with a phone call.

"We have a house".

I really don't go out walking much. It's a shame.  I admire others who do, I know I should.

During the 2 1/2 years we've lived here I am ashamed at how few times I've found myself out walking the road.

The times that I have tho, I always have found myself intrigued by those road signs.  It seems the story of my life.  I cannot imagine growing up, living in the same house for *18* years.  It didn't happen with me.

I can't imagine living in the same house all my *married-grown-up* years.  It didn't happen with us either. 

In January this year, the road looked the same.  There was no changes in sight.

then the curve. A new job across the state.  Since then the future & distance has been pretty much obscured from sight. It has been tolerable, but very bumpy and uncertain.

Time passes.  Some days drag, but mostly the weeks fly by.

And then there's the sign.

It's means decision,

It means change.

As opinionated as I can be, decisions are not my strong point.

It can make my life pretty miserable.

Mostly for myself, but probably somewhat for others who have to listen to me too.

So how long from the warning sign to the stop sign?  Sometimes it

seems to go on for a long time.

In reality really not so long.

And sometimes the decision is taken right out of my hands

and if it's something that I've been really searching the answer for

in the right place, that is a good thing.

The stop sign is right in front of me now, it's time to let go

and move on.

 **************************************************

Then again-

how insignificant my changes seem

in light of other things that have happened this year.

Some friends lost a child.

Some lost loved ones.

Causalities.  

Shootings in the news.

Fires have been burning, it's changed peoples plans, their days,

in some cases taken their homes or livlihood.

My friend deals with cancer. A life altering experience.

And me?

Well, I get a change of scenery.

The opportunity to make new friends,

expand our horizons,

live with my husband again,

and set to work re-decorating a new house!

Take a deep breath & stay calm!

That's what I'm telling myself today.

MARCH MADNESS!

Last week was a very crazy busy week. Our house was listed on Friday morning. Before the Realtor left, our Daughter in law's parents & Grandparents arrived from CA for the weekend and Ryan and Alishia's wedding reception here that we were hosting.

We had a grand afternoon, visiting & getting ready for the reception, a full house here for supper--In addition to Alishia's family, also Jana and her co-worker were here, Jeanne & Floyd and Mark & Relyssa. Jim and Lynisha & kids arrived later that night.

Saturday we headed over to decorate & set up for the reception, and it was a lovely day seeing so many & visiting. Of course a long day too, as we had a buffet lunch, & then clean up. By the time we got everything loaded back up and unloaded at home again, cleaned up, put away & the house ready for Sunday a.m. I was ready for bed!

I actually got a nap for a bit, the older kids loaded up everyone, down to the baby and went bowling for several hours and then to grab something to eat. Wonderful down-time for me!

Sunday was another big day. Our fellowship meeting here, then everyone (family/extended family) for dinner. By 3 p.m. I crashed again with a bad headache for a nap while everyone else went to G. meeting.

We reluctantly said goodbye to everyone...I have to admit it was a little hard to think about this weekend being our last big family party here! We've had so many wonderful weekends, potlucks & big family gatherings here.

Monday morning I hit the floor running. The whole house had to be clean & in order as Tuesday at 9 a.m. there was to be our first showing, and a Realtor tour plus two more showings scheduled for that afternoon. This means NO STUFFING OR CRAMMING IN CLOSETS, or like flylady says, "Stash & dash"! People who come to look at houses look in closets too!
Late in the afternoon I got a text from my daughter Lynisha. It said: "Supper will be delivered in 35-40 minutes. Enjoy"
I'm not sure anything could have made me happier at that point! What a wonderful thing to do!

I went to bed at 2:30 a.m., was up at 5:30 a.m. and walked out of a clean, totally in order house at 8:55 a.m.
I'm not a neat freak, I have 5 children plus the two of us parents living here. None of us do a very good job at keeping things picked up. This week has been quite the challenge, as along with Tuesdays showings, we had a showing Wed, Thurs, Friday and 4 on Saturday.
I don't think I would like to keep up that pace for very long! It was exhausting!

Saturday we got a call from the Realtor that someone had made an offer (one of Sat's showings)
We enjoyed our day on Sunday--a clean house & company for dinner too. On Monday we went to sign papers to accept the offer, along with 3 more showings during the day.

Tuesday I simply did not go anywhere, or do anything I didn't have to, and it was great to have some down time after having those crazy days behind me. I have to admit, I've never had ALL my house cleaned at the same time for this long! (it's kind of nice, but I really don't want to live quite this stressful!)

But today the panic set in.
I'm sorting, throwing & packing like crazy. I only have one month to get this done and be out of here!!

We are very excited to have a place in the country. I mentioned before it's been something we've wanted to do for a long time. NO regrets on moving--what we're leaving here, HOWEVER, We have lived here for a little over 17 years. We have 12 children who at one time all lived (or live) here. Our house is 7 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 laundry rooms and a huge family room in addition to the other "regular" rooms.
We still have 5 children at home, and we are moving to a house with 3 bedrooms 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen & porch.
Can you picture my problem? Oh yeah, and the fact that I'm a "save-a-holic" plus have several huge hobbies including about a gazillion books.

Nope, there is NO WAY. I cannot take it all, it will not even begin to fit.

Thanks for listening--I'll go back to work now. My panic has subsided for a while at least. I'll go back to Throwing, dumping, packing--along with my pile for probably the hugest garage sale I've ever had!