Even with all the bouts of anxiety, I remain rooted in the fact that this was the best move that we've ever taken and eventually, it will all come together.
The job, the community, the house, the furniture - which unfortunately, we learned this week, will not be here until almost four weeks after we expected it to arrive. Eventually, it will be here. And in the grand scheme of things, it's just a few more days that we'll have to do without, which adds to the adventure and will make us appreciate, that much more, the luxuries of life.
Luxuries like ... a real dining room table.
And our bed.
And our linens.
Because we are selling their twin over full bunk bed in Texas, I actually bought the boys new XL twin beds last week. William is 6'3" and still growing, and with Henry's shoe size of 12 at 14, I suspect he's going to be at least as tall as his brother, if not taller. The sheets that I ordered won't arrive for another few days - so they're still in sleeping bags, but at least they're no longer on the floor.
Since we aren't sure what our final house configuration will be (possibly a 3 bedroom?) and because at least one of the girls beds will be shipped up, I didn't want to rush out and buy another bed for them - so they told me that they were content to stay on their sleeping pads for a few more weeks. But then, our landlord loaned us a cot, and the next door neighbor, loaned us a brand new twin bed that she had purchased for donation to a local synagogue ... and just like that, the girls were off the floor, too.
It's really awesome to see the kindness in people.
Sometimes, you're on the giving end of that kindness and sometimes you're on the receiving end. At this juncture, it's more of the latter for us. But it's actually a privilege to be in both situations, if you can be graciously generous enough to extend help when you're able ... and gratefully humble enough to accept help when it is needed.
Maybe in that moment, you need that reminder that yes ... everything is great and if it's not - perhaps you need to stop what you're doing, take a walk, and count your blessings.
I've been doing a lot of that, lately: walking and blessing counting. Along the way, I am meeting wonderful neighbors and soaking in the natural beauty of northern Vermont. The days are still warm, the nights are beginning to cool, and the leaves are just starting to change. We have beautiful fields, ripe orchards, and lush forests surrounding our house and the walks have been epic.
I'm contemplating so much about life right now, and am trying to embrace this growth experience in all of it's entirety. As we emerge through this transition, I'm hopeful that we are being transformed in to kinder, gentler, more observant people that are more effectively squeezing (and savoring!) the juice out of each day.
Today, I'm pondering this passage by Ralph Waldo Emerson:
"Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better. What if they are a little coarse and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice? Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble."
These words were surely written for anyone who has the courage to venture off the beaten path and this morning, that literal kind of venturing was done by our Golden Retriever, Ollie, and our neighbor's Golden Retriever, Sadie. Our neighbor, who I can already tell is going to be one of my closest friends, has also just moved in and hadn't explored this particular field across the street from our homes, yet.
We no sooner took our dogs off leash to run, and they bolted off the path and jumped headfirst in to a bog. Little did we know what was in that tall grass, it was only when we heard the splashing and saw the mud flipping through the air, that my neighbor and I looked at each other and groaned.
Hidden in the grass, just off the path, was a deep, mucky, stinky bog and in my life, I've never seen two happier dogs jumping around, their coats soiled through to their skin.
As I walked home with a putrid, mud-soaked dog, my landlord who was doing work in the yard gave a deep belly laugh and said that the bath tub would surely work much better than the hose. It took almost ninety minutes, four baths, and a half bottle of shampoo to get the mud and stench off Ollie.
So, what's the moral of this story?
There are some pretty amazing lessons in life that we can learn from others. May we all be as lucky as our dogs, to have friends that will join us on our experimental adventures and may we not be afraid to get absolutely filthy in the process.
While I'm sure they would go headlong in to that bog, again, may I remember to keep Ollie on a leash the next time we walk through that field. Or, be sure that I've got plenty of time - and shampoo - on hand.
