Checking in at the Church of What’s Happenin’ Now

Not our new home, but completed inside it. Valentine’s Day was LEGO Day at our house and we completed the 5,922-piece Taj Mahal, a gift from my masochistic brother, in just under 10 hours.

We have come to the grim discovery that stationary life is infinitely busier than moving your home from place to place every few days. Here, the house doesn’t move but you are constantly coming in and out of it, rarely stopping in long enough to drink a cup of tea. On the road, the house is always changing locations but you have hours and hours to do, in the house, whatever you please.

We closed on our new home Monday, January 12 and with lots of help from family and friends, we started sleeping here that Friday. Bobby and I hadn’t realized how cold it’s been for Elise these past few months sleeping on a blow-up bed at my parents’, until we had to sleep on one here for a few days. Sleeping at floor level is cold! I was never so happy to see my actual bed.

Our first weekend in the house, we painted the two bedrooms. Ours is Behr’s Asparagus and Elise chose a Disney pink of some kind that Bobby enhanced with flowers, grass and clouds. There are many other projects in the works, including painting the random bright orange bricks in the kitchen and about 10 years of yard work. We love our new home, though, and have no regrets buying it. Except, maybe, that it doesn’t move.

Elise has re-entered “regular” life with alacrity. We ended up moving in next to one of her classmates and there is another girl on the other side of us who is ten, so there is no shortage of friends to play with. She is in Brownies and is playing basketball for the first time. Bobby wanted her to play a team sport and she loves it. Girl Scout cookie sales are under way and since I volunteered to be Cookie Mom this year, we are participating in cookie booths. We spent two hours outside today in the 35 degree weather, cheerfully asking people to turn over their recession-weakened dollars in exchange for some flour, sugar and milk. Most surprisingly, it was done cheerfully and we did well.


Elise with two buds at Girl Scout Day at a George Mason University Women’s Basketball game.


Elise, heading downcourt, before the game starts.

Elise entered the “big kid” realm earlier this month by getting braces on her top front teeth. She’s a little kid with a little mouth and her pediatric orthodontist is hoping to make some more room. The first two days were definitely tough, with lots of soreness involved, but she seems to be doing fine now.

Bobby re-entered “regular” life on December 1 when he started his new job at ManTech International as a technical writer. He would still prefer the life of a real estate appraiser, or better yet, still be on the road, but he (we) is (are) grateful he has a job in this tough climate. He got back together recently with some friends from his St. Mark’s days and performed in an improv troupe for a cabaret night at a local church. Very funny. My Old Man laugh (ask Conor and Taylor, our nephew and niece about it) was out in full force that night.

Work for me has finally gotten under control and I am enjoying working for the church. I think the next thing for me is to figure out how to get some exercise. I’ve discovered that sitting at a desk all day does very little for your cardiovascular system or your muscle tone. Something to work on.

All in all we are doing very well. It’s hard to not be on the road. I have pictures from the trip on my computer at work and sometimes I will see a picture that will take me back to that time and place and I remember who I was then and what I was feeling. And I sigh. But we are blessed to be back with family, old friends and new. And who knows what might be waiting around the next bend in the road?