A hot day at the Capital...
Grandpa Tom steers the Cisne Branco
Grammies picking blueberries together...
We LOVE Butler's Orchard!
Happy Grampy...
Bennett & his friends Spencer and Nicholas at our surprise goodbye party
Ethan at the Air & Space Museum
On the Cisne Branco at Baltimore's Inner Harbor
Savanna sure has some crazy cousins...
Our new deck!
With our vacations over, family gone back home, and Jer starting his residency at Walter Reed this week, now comes the part I always hate about moving and have been dreading since we got here: my friend Jessica put it so well--she calls it a lack of 'place', being without a sense of history in a new town. You have to re-explain yourself to people, define yourself all over again to new friends and in new situations. How do you wrap yourself up into a nice little package that says, "Here I am! This is what I'm all about!" I don't even know what I'm all about, so how can I portray that to others? Maybe I'm just lazy, but lately I just CRAVE the comfort of an old friend's home, where I can nestle down into the couch, pour out my heart and share my feelings of late (which have been overflowing), while my boys play with THEIR friends, who they miss too. Oh well, to everything there is a season, and I'm realizing that the times I grow the most are the times when I have to stretch myself. I am getting REALLY flexible :o)
So for the time being, we're having lots of Mom-and-her-boys time... which I love. We're spending tons of time at the pool, going on a Reading Road Trip with the public library system, picking a topic to study each week and then going downtown to get some hands-on experience with it, and I'm trying to figure out how to get down to the Kennedy Center for their children's programs this summer. I hear they're incredible! And hopefully, somewhere along the line, we'll make some new friends :o)
11 comments:
Karen, you put that so well! "A lack of place" -- yes, I suffer from that as well! If only I could introduce myself and say, "and I spill my soul on my blog on a weekly basis, so check it out and see if we could become dear dear friends."
Looks like you have taken a very proactive approach to your new free time -- what fun! Are you anywhere near Frederick, MD? There's an AWESOME state park there called Cunningham, I think. There's a waterfall (we like to hike up and splash in the falls, though it says not to; it's not as risky as it sounds), and a "beach" at the lake for swimming. Anyways, maybe you can check it out!
Love the post. Love your new deck. I am not feeling like you yet. I am loving that I have nowhere to be no one to impress and nothing to do for anyone else. Wow maybe I am more introverted than I thought. We haven't even been to church yet because of a million crazy circumstances so I haven't made a friend in the world. I keep thinking while my house is a mess -- "At least I know nobody is going to stop by unannounced."
Becca, we will check out the park for sure! Thanks for the suggestion :o)
Laura, thank you for your perspective! I need to be grateful for this time, not wish it away. You're so right!
Well, sis, more unvarnished eloquence from the perfect mother of boys. You're writing a book, figuratively and literally. You will look at these pages in years to come and find unimaginable joy in: the memories; that you came through it; and that it led (as surely it will) to so many experiences and so much goodness and so much love. Happy Daddy, happy Gwampy.
I miss you...and the sweet boys.
Love you
Oh, Karen. I have felt that "lack of place" too often for my blood. I still feel it and I can't wait for next year when we can settle in and firmly make some roots instead of moving every year like we've done (or seems like we've done). I agree with Laura, enjoy this time of you and your boys and you'll find that BFF before you know it!
I'm totally for Wien for the 20 year reunion. I will begin saving my pennies and losing the extra weight so I can eat gelato for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Sounds like a great time.
Thanks for commenting on my blog! I miss book club too. Heather just sent me the book Star Girl!!! I loved it! Have you read it?
there's awesome and there's suck to the situation. there's not a lot of comfort to be found, true. but on the flip side, you get a clean slate. you struggle to define yourself to people, sure. but that means you get to redefine yourself if you want. a chance to try being someone different. sounds kind of fun.
and yes, i think you're going to have an awful time making friends.
Thanks for showing us such a fun time...maybe we should move to Maryland? :)
Love,
Grammy Ruth
P.S. Besides, if we moved out, you wouldn't have to worry about making new friends...or maybe you'd want to, to get rid of us...
"Maybe I'm just lazy, but lately I just CRAVE the comfort of an old friend's home, where I can nestle down into the couch, pour out my heart and share my feelings of late (which have been overflowing), while my boys play with THEIR friends, who they miss too."
Bingo! well-put, I know exactly what you mean!
Post a Comment