Archive for the ‘Family’ Category

Well, ain’t it nice to see you all again!  I have missed you!  But I had a much needed little time-out with the fam and we are all in a much better place today.  I guess I should bring you all up to speed because there has been a LOT going on ’round these here parts.

After the break in last weekend, we packed up basically our entire house except for the furniture and went to stay with my parents.  It has been so nice to be here and to feel safe and secure while we make some decisions, instead of making them out of fear or in haste.  The only part that is a little tricky is that it is about an hour and a half drive into Orlando every day for Chris to work and last week, Bean Man and I had lots to take care of, so we were making the trip almost every day, too.  That part is no fun at all, but it’s just part of the arrangement right now and it could be much worse.

The first thing we had to do was figure out the living situation.  We had been holding off on moving because we really couldn’t afford anywhere that was much better than where we were without me having a job.  Which is why we hadn’t moved before.  But, we decided that job or no job, we had to move so we started looking around right away for somewhere else.  Turns out there were some options, but not great ones and though it was frustrating, we were just happy that we had other places to go.

And then, lo and behold, my oldest friend in the whole wide world, Sarah, called me last Tuesday.  She and her husband are both teachers and she told me that her school was looking for someone to teach a class.  Like the Saint that she is, she got me an interview on Wednesday.  After the interview, of course, I headed up to Sarah’s classroom to tell her all about it and as I’m sitting there gushing about some of my answers, in walks the person who interviewed me and she offered me the job.  Right there.  On the spot.

Prayer.  Answered.

I can’t be positive, but I may have started crying when she told me.  But I’m not sure because I was screaming so loudly I wasn’t able to concentrate on my tear ducts.  I can’t tell you where or what I’m teaching because of all that internet-psycho-mumbo-jumbo-safety-stuff, but I can tell you that I am so excited about it.  I’ve never taught before, but I really think I might be good at it.  School starts today, but there is a sub in my class until my temporary teaching certificate comes through.  And actually, that in itself is another blessing because I’ll probably start teaching in a couple weeks which would give us time to move in to our new place.  Commuting every day from two hours away would be really difficult since I have to be there so early in the morning and this way I have time to move before I actually start.

The next task we had to tackle last week was a daycare for Bean Man because he would be really irritated if I hid him under my desk all day.  And – wowza! – did we luck out!  We found a daycare very close to my school that is WONDERFUL!  I want to go there.  It is so clean and bright and all the kids looked happy and healthy and like they were having a really good time.  In Bean’s class, there were 6 other children and they were all his size!  It was a class of kids just like him!  And they were all sitting in little bitty chairs having a snack when we toured the facility, just like little people!  As we stood there, the two teachers helped them CLEAN UP THEIR OWN SNACK (can you imagine Bean cleaning up after himself?  I cannot.) and then move over to circle time where they all sat like little gems in a circle on the floor and watched as the teacher read a book to them.  All I could think was, “Bean is going to have MANNERS!!!!”  Seriously, I thought I had died and gone to daycare heaven.

Prayer.  Answered.

The cost of this daycare is about what we paid in Connecticut, which is a little pricey for this area.  But with my new job, we are able to pay it and we think it is totally worth the extra cost.  I really think Bean is going to love it there and it will be easier for me to go back to work knowing he’s in such a friendly place.

The last piece of the whole puzzle is a house.  With our income more than doubling since I now have a job, we were finally able to look in neighborhoods and at homes that we had imagined us living in all along.  Nothing huge, but nice, clean houses in safe, family-friendly neighborhoods.  And boy did we luck out!  We found a really great house in an older suburb of Orlando that is absolutely perfect.  It isn’t too big, but is comparable to the size of our house in Connecticut which means that – holy moly – we’ll be able to unpack completely for the first time in six months!  And the best part is that the neighborhood is full of families with kids playing outside, people walking dogs, and mothers strolling down sidewalks with their babies.

That’s right.

I said sidewalks.

Prayer.  Answered.

Now, I realize that these things might not be that big of a deal to anyone, but to our family who has lived in the ghetto for the past six months, sidewalks and kids playing outside are HUGE.  We put in our application to rent the house last week and we are hoping to hear this week if we got the house.  If so, we would move in Labor Day weekend and, hopefully, I’d start teaching the week after.

All in all, it’s been a pretty exciting time for our family this past week.  We went from the worst possible situation to the best possible situation in about three days.  I can’t even begin to tell you the roller coaster of emotions we’ve been through.  But through it all, Chris and I have continued to stay positive and have kept talking to each other.  Usually during the day, so much was going on that we wouldn’t really have time to talk too much.  Mostly just checking in with each other and updating the other on things that were happening.  But at night before we went to bed, we’d talk through things.  We’d plan, we’d worry, we’d squeal, but mostly, we’d laugh.  And it was just a reaffirmation to me that I had married the right person.  There’s no one else that could go through something like this with me more perfectly that Chris and I’ve never been more happy to have married my best friend.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go drag my best friend out of bed so he can go to work and bring me home a paycheck.

Best friends are really awesome when they bring home paychecks.

On Saturday night, Chris and I went to dinner at a friend’s house.  They had just moved into a new house and so we were celebrating their new digs.  Which, of course, meant Chris and I complained the whole time about our crappy rental house.  We chatted about possible ways to get out of it, but in the end we all decided it was better to wait for a while until things were a little more settled on the home front for us.

We got home around 11:00 that night and when we pulled into the driveway, I noticed the light in the living room was on.

“Oh, we left the light on,” I said to Chris.  “How strange.”

When we went to the backdoor, which is the one we use as the main door to the house, it was unlocked.

Even stranger.

We walked into the house to find that someone had clearly been there while we were gone.  Our house had been broken into and completely trashed.  They came through a window that was behind our entertainment center, so they pushed the entire entertainment center over, sending furniture, pictures, electronics, and Bean’s toys flying all over the place.  Chris immediately noticed his two gaming systems were gone, the Wii and the Nintendo 3, along with all of his games, remotes, and cords.  The pillows from the couch had been pulled off and thrown all over and whomever it was had then poured condensed New England clam chowder all over the furniture and rugs.  Every drawer and cabinet in the house was standing open and the contents had either been pulled out and thrown around or they were empty, their contents stolen.

Walking further into the house, the area in the hall where we kept diaper bags and empty purses was a mess.  Ever bag having been torn open and Bean’s big diaper bag even missing – a total bummer since that’s one of the first things I bought when I was pregnant with him.  Totally replaceable, and not even really used too often anymore, but still such a disappointment.

Our bedroom was the worst.  They had gone through my tall, stand up jewelry box and taken everything.  I had a diamond ring my parents had given me when I was sixteen and another beautiful garnet ring set with two diamonds on each side in white gold that they gave me for my college graduation – garnet and gold.  Go Seminoles.  All of my earrings were taken, including a pair of diamond studs made from diamonds taken from a family heirloom that Chris’ grandmother gave me when I married Chris.  And they took my Bean necklace.  Which just broke my heart.  But the biggest loss for me were two $15 sterling silver rings.  Two simple bands, one inscribed with I Promise, April 29, 1999 and the other inscribed with I Swear, April 29, 1999. They were mine and Chris’ promise rings from high school, our promise to each other that one day we would be married.  And while those rings have long been replaced by two platinum wedding bands, those $15 bands held more significance to me than anything else I own.

Thankfully, they left my last drawer, full of significant cards and letters and keepsakes from over the years – Bean’s baptismal Bible, my baptismal Bible, a copy of the prayer read at my wedding, a card from my sister telling me how proud she was of me getting my masters, and so on and so on.  They also left behind my pearls, my high school class ring, and Chris’ platinum Yale cufflinks that I gave him when he graduated.

They went through all our drawers in our dresser, throwing clothing everywhere and clearly looking for hidden money and valuables.  They pulled all my clothes off the hangers and threw everything from my shelves out into the bedroom.  Our bed had been pulled apart and pillows, sheets, and blankets strewn all over the room.  And underneath it all, my little dog Lucy hid under the bed, shaking and scared and refusing to come out, even for me and Chris.

They also didn’t go into Bean’s room.  His drawers were all closed and his closet hadn’t been touched.  For this, I am so thankful because the thought of them being in his room would have been enough to kill me.

All total, they took most of our electronics (blessedly leaving the most expensive – two large flat screen TVs), all of my jewelry, Bean’s diaper bag, our video camera (luckily I had taken my camera with me to dinner), a couple camera lenses, two iPods, a few knick-knacks, and my iPhone.  All important, but nothing that can’t be replaced.

What they took that was more important than those things was our sense of security.  Our sense of privacy.  I felt so violated.  Someone had been through our things. They had their hands on my wedding china.  They touched our family photos.  They walked in my bedroom.  The term home invasion doesn’t even begin to describe that feeling.  That kind of invasion is personal and emotional.  And those are the hardest wounds to heal.

Chris and I called the police, who came out and dusted for finger prints and took our statements.  And after he left, we were left standing there amongst the mess.  I was shaking so violently that the sunglasses still clasped in my hands after grabbing them off my head when we walked inside were trembling.  The officer told us that often one break in means someone has been in the house and seen valuables that they weren’t able to grab the first time and they often return in a few days or weeks to take what they left behind.  There was no way I could be in the house anymore.  And there was definitely no way I could bring Bean into that house.  He was sleeping safe and sound at my parent’s house that night, and that is exactly where he would stay until we had a better living situation.  In fact, that was where we would all stay.

So, at 2am, Chris and I packed up what valuables that were left that we could take with us and we drove an hour away to my parent’s house.  Sunday morning, we came home with my parents and together we all cleaned up the mess and came up with a game plan.

Our initial 6 month lease was up on Aug. 31 at this house and though we had verbally committed to renewing for another 6 months, we had no yet signed a lease.  Now, I’m not one to go back on my word, but there was no way I was staying in that house another 6 months.  So, Sunday morning Chris talked with our landlords, who were understanding and kind.  We decided to spend the remaining two weeks of August at my parent’s house.  We packed up almost the entire house, except the furniture, and have essentially moved into my parent’s house.  Chris and I will be meeting this week with a property manager about finding a place to rent beginning September 1.  But regardless of what happens, we are out of that house and my family is safe.  And that’s what is important.

I don’t talk often about my faith on this blog and that is on purpose.  But it’s hard to talk about this event – and the subsequent few months since we’ve moved to Florida – without talking about what it has meant to me as a Christian.  When we lived in Connecticut, Chris and I had a pretty charmed life.  At 26 years old, we were making a lot of money.  We had a beautiful house.  We were able to spend money as we needed, and even as we wanted. And with that level of financial freedom comes a level of peace and security.  But it’s a peace and security based on the wrong thing.

When we moved to Florida, I think it was the Lord’s way to telling me that loving Him wasn’t enough for a relationship.  I had to trust Him.  And to show me, He shook my life to the core.  I haven’t been able to find a job.  Our house was small, cramped, and apparently as unsafe as it seemed.  And just about the time Chris and I would feel like we were starting to get on our feet again, something else would come along and knock us for a loop again.  We just couldn’t get ahead.  And through it all, I continued to pray.  But I continued to pray for the wrong things.  I prayed for God to stop this.  To fix things.  To change things.  And what I didn’t realize was that I was missing the point.

What I should have been praying were prayers of thanksgiving.

Thank you Lord that we have a roof over our heads.

Thank you Lord that you have provided food and clothing and met the needs of our family.

Thank you Lord for bringing my husband and I closer together through these trials.

Thank you Lord for the family that surrounds us and pulls us through these times.

Thank you Lord for your plan, even though it is very different than my plan.

What God was trying to teach me was that loving Him and having a relationship with Him means trusting him – and not just in the good times.  It means trusting that even when I can’t see the bigger picture, God does.  He was literally taking all the things that I found security in away from me.  And when I still didn’t get the message, he had other people come in and physically TAKE everything from me.  How much clearer can it be?

Those things that were stolen are just things.  All replaceable.  And that house that was broken is fixable.  What is more important than those things is the health and safety of my family – and we have that.  What is more important is our love for each other – and we have that.  What is more important is our faith that the Lord will provide – and now we have that, too.

Last night, Chris and I climbed into the bed in the spare room at my parent’s house.  Our son was sleeping soundly across the hall and our dogs were finally calm and curled at our feet.  And when we kissed goodnight and I rolled over, I sighed and felt the stress and pressure and fear of the uncertainty that I have been carrying for that past six months leave my body completely.

For the first time in six months, I slept all the way through the night last night and when I woke up this morning I was holding my husband’s hand and thanking the Good Lord for the many blessings in my life.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord.  “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

As much as I am loving this time to be home with Bean Man, I am still job hunting.  I used to be really uncomfortable staying home, but part of this whole Bloom Where You Are Planted thing is coming to peace with where I am right now and right now, I’m home during the days.  Actually, I’m getting pretty good at it now!  I’m much better at play dates, I’ve made some really nice friends with other SAHM’s here, and I’ve completely gotten used to being out and about during the day by myself with Bean.

The thing is, I’ve gotten so good at filling mine and Bean’s days with fun things that sometimes Chris feels a little left out.  When we’re on the go all day long doing fun things, I can tell when I talk to him that night that he wishes he’d been able to go with us.  Lately, I’ve been making an effort to make sure that he doesn’t feel left out of anything.  Now, we use weekends to do a lot of “Firsts.”  Like, the first time we took Bean to a pool was on a weekend with Daddy and the first time we let Bean order off of the restaurant menu was on a weekend with Daddy.  None of those things are milestones or will probably be significant looking back at Bean’s childhood, but they go a long way to make sure Chris knows how important he is in Bean’s growth.  After we’ve had the “First” with Chris on the weekends, I can add it to my regular rotation of activities we do during the week without feeling like I’m experiencing anything with Bean that Chris would miss out on.

Does that make sense?

On Friday night, Chris and I were up late watching Season One of The Shield (holy smokes what a show!  wowza!) and in the middle of one particularly intense scene, Chris looked over to me out of the blue and said, “Let’s take Bean to the zoo tomorrow.”

Now, I know this is going to sound melodramatic and ridiculous, but I could actually FEEL myself fall more in love with him when he said it.  It wasn’t the zoo that was important to me.  It was that Chris was thinking of things for us to do as a family together.  Knowing that Chris LIKES spending time with us and that he WANTS to be there with us is something that I don’t take for granted.  Lots of dads aren’t like that and I know how lucky we are to have one who is.

So, Saturday morning, we got up and headed to the Central Florida Zoo.  We spent the morning there seeing all the animals and making animal sounds with Bean.  This zoo had a little splash park inside of it, too, so when it got hot around lunch time, we changed into Bean’s swimming trunks and let him splash around for a while before we headed home.  Bean Man was asleep before we even pulled out of the parking lot.  It was a big day.

Blooming where you are planted is hard stuff, man!  You have to be sure you are blooming as an individual, blooming as a couple, and blooming as a family.  That’s a lot of bloomin’ blooming!  But each step is important and to fall short in one area can throw all the others out of whack.

This is one of the many hundreds of thousands of reasons that I am thankful to be married to someone who is not just willing, but who WANTS to hold my hand and bloom along beside me.  And who makes the effort to be there to bloom together as a family.

Because seeing his parents make that effort together is what will give Bean the confidence and security to bloom on his own his whole life.