35 Thoughts on Moving

We've been in our new house since last Tuesday and I am loving it! Moving is a huge pain, but I did end up getting over 22,000 steps on moving day, so that's something to celebrate I suppose. We're still getting things organized and figuring out how to arrange the rooms, but I feel like we've made a lot of progress. I love having more space. I haven't had to clean it yet so we will see if that feeling holds. I think we are going to be happy here for a long time to come. 

I haven't been blogging as much but I have been working on some short stories (actually managed to finish one, which is something I struggle with!) but I wanted to take the opportunity to record my feelings about moving. No pictures this time but I think I'll take some good ones once things are a little more settled. 

For now, here are some random thoughts I've had since moving...

1. It is nice to not be able to hear every word everyone says from any location in the house.
2. I don't have easy access to a Super Walmart or neighborhood market anymore.
3. I need more bathroom stuff.
4. There are somehow fewer cabinets than we had before.
5. Walking into a closet is cool!
6. There are many more places to hide from the children than before.
7. I should have purged a LOT more stuff before packing it up...
8. I use the computer a lot more now that it's on the main level.
9. The basement is virtually empty because we don't have enough stuff to fill it.
10. Paying movers was expensive but totally worth it.
11. I really miss my old (new) dishwasher. Might need another new one.
12. What if we traded in two crappy fridges for one good one?
13. This location makes it a lot quicker to get to church!
14. I thought I might cry when we left but I definitely did not.
15. I do miss having my own bathroom. Now I have to share with Tim...
16. This microwave is a different wattage from the old one and that makes a difference.
17. With all these neighbors how is it that there's only one kid close by?!
18. It seems that the patio is going to be a bigger pain to fix than we originally thought.
19. Music makes everything better. I tip my hat to YouTube and Spotify.
20. I have a puzzle going and it is not interrupting dinner!!!
21. I hope we live here for a long long time.
22. I learned more about our highway system yesterday than I have in my entire life combined.
23. I think it's going to be much easier and faster to get to work now.
24. Except for Tim, it'll take him much longer.
25. Furniture is expensive.
26. I have no idea where to put the homeschooling stuff and I can see myself moving it a lot.
27. I wish I had more money to make the place perfect!
28. Hiccup is completely insane. (OK, that's not related to moving but it is definitely true)
29. There is carpet under the table and that makes me uncomfortable. 
30. More ceiling fans would be cool! Haha.
31. I find myself shopping at the same stores as before despite the fact that they are far away now.
32. There are tons of boxes in my in-laws' garage and I do not want to deal with them.
33. It's amazing to think that the idea of moving popped into our heads on Mother's Day and here we are, in a new house!
34. I definitely feel my life coming full circle as I'm now down the street from my elementary school and my high school workplace. I'm not fancy enough to actually live at Lakeview but it would be interesting if I ended up there somehow. 
35. More space means more places to stow junk that should be confronted and dealt with. 

July and August Goals

July Goals Review

I'm not late on this post because I've been busy, I'm late on this post because I've been trying to decide if it is worth it to have any goals for August besides move into a new house while maintaining some semblance of sanity. I decided to go ahead and make a list, because I've done well keeping up with these monthly goals and I don't want to skip a month and lose momentum. We'll see how it goes!

Read a book - I read 3! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Dinner, and The Life Changing Magic of not Giving a _____. The first was an amazing story that I really enjoyed, second was kind of mediocre, but third was an absolute life changer. I highly recommend you check it out, unless you're easily offended by foul language. You've been warned. 

See the new Ghostbusters movie - May or may not have seen it more than once. Loved it! Highly recommend. This movie is important for women. I'd love to lecture you about it if given the opportunity ;)

Make Lydia's birthday special - The kid got to celebrate three different times. She had a blast turning 5!

Coffee and/or dinner with friends - Check, more than once. 

Celebrate my 30th birthday - Check. I got three glorious days and nights kid-free and got to celebrate with some people I love!

Figure out a curriculum for Legacy for the fall - Check. 

Find a great house and buy it!!! - Check! We close in a couple of weeks! Can't wait.

Get back into some kind of routine - We started up a bit of school again, I think we all needed some sort of structure. We're easing into it, just a couple of subjects going currently. 

Blog weekly - I didn't post a blog entry each week, but I worked on some posts for several days, I wrote every single week, did a lot of journaling, and finished a short story. 

Do an additional purge - Aside from throwing away a lot of stuff from Lydia's room and getting rid of a lot of my clothes, I still have purging to do. 

Do some art projects - Yeah, not so much. I mean I painted something, but not with the kids. 

~~~~

August Goals

House

PACK

CLOSE

MOVE!

Get an estimate for patio repairs

Get an estimate for kitchen updates

Furnish at least one living space

Personal

Finish reading Lean In

Family

Schedule a date with Tim

Wellness

Scope out some places to walk near my new home
Volleyball and karate on Mondays!

Social

Schedule a karaoke night with friends

School

Get the first month of Legacy planned and gather supplies

Determine a space for school in our new house

Try out a couple of different routines to see what works best

Writing

Blog at least twice

Finish a short story

Try to incorporate journaling regularly, if not daily

Two weeks until moving day! We'll see what I manage to accomplish this month :) I don't think I'm going to feel too guilty if I don't get much more than moving done in August. There's always September. 

Thoughts about 30

I've been 30 for a week now, and that's a little weird for me. I think it will sink in with time. You know how it feels the first time after a birthday, when someone (usually a stranger or professional of some sort) asks how old you are and you tell them your new age, but feel kind of like you're lying? Yeah, that's kind of where I am right now. I think some people refer to this as "denial".

I've been in a very reflective mood lately. I've felt the need to examine and evaluate the different areas of my life. The past ten years of my life were busy and tumultuous. I know the next ten will probably be the same story with different details. At this point of transition between my 20s and 30s, I decided to take the time to reflect upon some revelations I've had and how I see them affecting my journey forward.


1. I appreciate coffee and wine now. I entered my 20s with an upturned nose toward both. Coffee? Ew. Wine? Why? My appreciation for coffee began when Lydia was a baby and my dear friend delivered Starbucks to my doorstep one day. Coffee is a magical substance that decreases my hatred for mornings (and humans) and I can't imagine life without it now. If coffee and I are married, wine and I are casually dating, sometimes seeing other people. We're still feeling each other out, trying to see where the relationship is going. So far I've learned that one glass of wine results in the loss of filters as well as lots of giggling. After a particularly long day, it can be a great way to unwind. 

2. I am me. At age 20, I was working at Lakeview Village, going to class at JCCC and hanging out with my new boyfriend Tim. Now I've got two degrees, a part time job, two kids, and eight years of marriage to said boyfriend under my belt. Basically, I've spent the past ten years developing. As a student, wife, parent, friend, woman, and American. My experiences have shaped me into the person that I am today. I know what's important to me and I'm figuring out that I don't need to apologize for it.  I'm learning that it's fine if I think differently than the people I care about and that rather than trying to stuff down parts of who I am that may seem off-color, I should embrace them and even celebrate them.

I'm a nerd. 

3. I have finite energy.  I can only truly care about so many things.  I'm learning to prioritize what these things are. For instance, I don't have the desire to care about organic food, and I probably never will. I'd rather spend that time caring about women's rights, watching hilarious YouTube videos, or reading a book. And there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone has different priorities. What matters to me is different than what matters to the next person and maybe we don't need to spend a lot of time trying to convince others to join our team. I can't do all the things and do them well. So I have to pick which things matter most and go from there. 

4. I need to think outside the four walls of my home.  The past decade has been a pretty self focused one for me.  My priorities were education and raising my family.  That's fine, but now the kids are older and more independent, and I have completed my formal education and am living a somewhat stable life. It's time for me to spend more time becoming informed about what's going on in our country and our world, and what I can do to make a positive impact. I'm starting by simply turning up the volume of the outside world and I hope that will lead me in a direction that allows me to get busy doing something valuable. 

5. I need to laugh more.  If you've known me for any length of time, you'll probably agree that I am a pretty silly and lighthearted person.  Parenting and navigating anxiety sobered me up for a while. Which is fine and even normal to an extent, because being completely responsible for tiny humans is exhausting and anxiety sucks. But I've come to the realization that I allowed these circumstances to wind me up a little too much. I became more worried and serious than is really necessary. I need to undo that. I want to make time to figure out what I find funny and intentionally experience it so I can lighten up in my 30s. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that laughter is good for you, so I'm going with that. I'm on a quest to relax and laugh more, and I invite you to join me. Kate McKinnon and John Oliver, I'm counting on you guys. 

6. I have a team.  I have resigned myself to the fact that it's unrealistic to do life alone and do a very good job at it. I have called in the reinforcements. For the first time since middle school, I have a primary care doctor. And unlike the doctor I had in middle school, I actually like him and trust him with the bumps and bruises that pop up now and then.  I also found several specialists as well that I like and trust.  I now know who to call when I'm not feeling like myself, which is an important step in staying healthy. In addition to professionals, I have a team of friends and family who not only support me through difficult times but also make daily life much more enjoyable.

7. I'm not done yet. Yes, I've finished school and raised my children out of the baby stage and into the kid stage, and that was important, but there are still other important things for me to do. I love teaching and I love writing and I am excited to see where these passions take me. I feel that I've crossed a finish line or two in some regards and am preparing for another race altogether. I'm certain that I have a lot left to do with my time on earth.  

GOODBYE!

Apologizing for being me

Unnecessary worry

Analysis paralysis

Self absorption

Raising babies

Caring too much about what others think

Avoiding medical professionals

People who make me feel crummy

Excessive guilt and shame

Skirting around conversations that need to take place

Clothes I don't like
Living in my comfort zone
20s

HELLO!

Embracing who I am
Laughing regularly

Caring about issues outside my bubble

Raising kids
Standing up for what I believe in

Taking better care of myself

People who make me feel good

Forgiveness

Being frank when necessary

T-shirts that make me smile

Taking risks
30s


I think it's going to be a good decade.