A baby crab
We are slowly discovering the culture and what the Pacific Northwest has to offer, more and more everyday. We have places to go, things to see, and people to meet. This has helped our transition to a different part of the country so much; the invitations for dinner, the beauty of the seascape, and even what a decent end-of-winter feels like with rain instead of late snowfalls. We've come at a good time. We're 'getting out there' and getting our feet wet (literally, me in the Vibrams) exploring nature and also meeting new people.
Last week, however, was a killer.
Last week, however, was a killer.
A morning view of the Blaine public fishing pier
Not one to miss the irony of a dose of my own medecine, but the past month and a half of Stefan's long hours had finally caught up with me and it was taking an extreme toll on Thursday and Friday. I know part of the problem was because it happens every month (ahem) that I get a little bit irritable, snarky and overly tired. The other part was simply hours of time trying to figure out things to do with the kids without having them kill each other, them kill me, or me killing them. It's quite a delicate balance, the 'arsenic hour', as my friend Kerri put it.
I've been very lucky to find a really great group of women to share Wednesday mornings with during a two and a half hour (hallelujah) bible study hour where there is babysitting provided. This has helped ease the transition not only from finding a church and the small beginnings of friendships, but also to relieve me, albeit a small amount, of being with my children throughout the week for adult conversation. We've also done a bit of digging (thank you homeschooling newsletter) and found a wonderful babysitter that we will hopefully call before April is out to come watch our kids for a date-night.
A low-tide walk around Semiahmoo peninsula
We knew this would be one of the hardest parts of moving away from the grandparents. Our children are very lucky they have very invested grandparents, and we were so happy that they could spend their youngest years growing those relationships. We knew it would be hard on our kids (it has been) and our parents (I'm sure it has been), and we knew it would be hard on us to not have the relief they provided us, as well as our own relationships with them. We knew this going into this move. We prepped ourselves mentally, and we can say that it has been hard.
Stefan and I had talked about this at length before our move, and frankly, other than moving away from our wonderful church family and our very close friends, it was THE reason we debated moving in the first place, years ago. We love our families and while most people we know are starting to return to their city or state of origin, after being gone for years for college, travelling, first jobs, etc., to begin families, we'd found ourselves already with the family, and never having the years of 'exploration'; we knew we'd regret it if we didn't take our opportunity.
A bird's (bike's) view of Birch Bay
We don't know what the future will hold for us, right now we know we are in the right place. We've worked really hard to pull this one off, and we're trying to edge ourselves in. While Stefan doesn't have the same feelings of 'starting fresh' (so many of his best friends live near us now), I feel that I've had to make a very intentional point to stay connected by any means possible. That means volunteering to garden at our new church's community garden. That has meant listening to podcasts that make me feel slightly more connected (is that weird? Maybe. It's helped.) as a mom. It also means having chats on facebook, whereas normally I hate the chat function. It has also meant picking up the phone, or ringing facetime, and trying so so hard to focus all my energy on calling or emailing real updates to those I love back in Nebraska. It has even meant thinking about what to share, and blogging more regularly (lucky you).
The moral of the story? We're seven full weeks in, and we've done well. It will take time. We're planning, we're doing. (Huge, life shifts take time? What?)
And lawdy, somebody get this girl a date before she eats any more spoonfuls of peanut butter!
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