It's an over-used analogy but I thought of it the other night when Abbie and I were outside.  There is sooo much to do right now.  There has so much to do for a very long time now.  All the changes to our life that are occurring are traceable back to that 'very much to do.'  We want less doing and more being. 

Genevieve sent me a link to a new book documenting the author's search home which led to multiple houses in multiple places over the course of many years.  I can relate to part of that.  The roof under which I type tonight is the 21st  to cover me in my 43 years. 

The author refers to this as rootlessness however and I take issue with that.  Tolkien tells us that not all who wander are lost.  I would assert, further, that not all who wander geographically are rootless.  

In this family we are very rooted – to our faith, to our family, to our love for God's creation which is vast indeed. 

We may not be rooted to place as an oak digs deeply into the soil, but we are connected to each other, much like the system of runners which tie the aspens together just below the surface.  We draw our life not from the ground below us but from these people whose lives are so entwined with our own. 

More than a specific place, home for us is a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on, a brother to carry you when you are low. This is what counts.  This is what we are building.  These are the big rocks in our life -the people we share our lives with. Their big and little concerns come first.  We are are leaving this place because it is not important.  We are.  They are.  All the other things demanding our time and attention must sift down around them. There will be other places to be, and other things to do, but there will only be a strong 'us' if we tend to very intentionally.

So while there is a great deal to do, I am taking time for nights like this one spent watching determined little hands move  rocks from one spot to another, shadowing the bigger job her mom and dad are doing. While we all work, I am determined to be present in each moment, in this place, because we do not know when we walk this way again.  Perhaps that is the greatest gift that moving so often has given us, that of taking nothing for granted, in time or space.  

We do not know when we walk this way again. 

  more daybooks at Peggy's

Outside my window… dark and chilly. It's Sunday evening and it has rained on and off the past few days. 

I am hearing… Aidan retelling Bunnicula to Kieran, Brendan, and Tess who are captivated by his rendition.  Helps that the story teller turned off the lights and is holding a flip phone to light his face. ; )  The big's are gathering game boards for a late night game.  "Phase Ten? Pictureka? Yahtzee? Apples to Apples?" The votes are being cast…

 I am thinking… about where we will be next month this time and all that must happen in between. 

I am thankful for…  two fantastic get-together's with friends this weekend. We are so blessed. Thank you! 

I am wearing…  long gray matte jersey skirt, black v-neck tee, black beaded necklace set. 

I am reading… The Tremayne's and the Masterful Monk.  I love love love this series. Colin and I read the first on loan from friends and I bought him the whole set for his birthday last summer. I just misplaced the current volume he lent me, however. That's what happens when you sneak a book into the bathroom or wherever for a chapter or two.  St. Anthony….

From the learning rooms… math lessons with one teen in the evening lately.  Another teen is an essay question away from finishing the government class.  

I am creating…. thematic piles for the movers in hopes of having some logic to the packing boxes. And lots and lots of lists. Tons to remember. 

Pondering these words…

Around the house… painting furniture.  Seriously. It's therapeutic.  When I get stressed I paint things.

Looking ahead this week:  replacing son's ID after his wallet was stolen. 'Cause we were apparently not having enough fun, what with moving around the world and fixing garbage disposals and broken pipes and all. Say a little prayer if you would.  He really needed his ID this week. 

Packers begin Friday.  Wow. 

One of my favorite things… little girls in matching dresses. 

From my picture journal…

after the storm
 

I sincerely enjoy having teenaged daughters.  I mean that. 

They are becoming delightful young women, our girls.

They are nurturing and tender-hearted,

 Contemplative, quiet, dreamy.

Hopeful, happy, and curious about the future. 

 They fill my hours with happy conversation and broad smiles.

 I am a very lucky woman. 

It's Friday again.  Gotta admit this is starting to feel like SNL's Weekend Update <g> but here goes…

— 1 —

Things don't get much easier than this for a lazy birdwatcher such as myself. This little critter got rerouted into our sunroom. The pics show not only his/her feathered splendor but also just how badly my window trim needs to be scraped since painting the room. But I digress. 25mph winds may have factored in. For the bird, not the trim:

 Then again, there may be a genetic component too since a few days later what looks to be an offspring (?) found itself stuck in the same room batting at the window.  

This happened years ago and a tiny bird really stunned himself in there, setting off every maternal alarm I am equipped with. MacBeth assured me that if I left it alone it would indeed recover and move on.  It did, as did these two, reenforcing my growing conviction that not all problems need to be 'solved' and that if you leave some things alone, they very often do just sort of go away. How is that for a metaphor? 

— 2 —

Because he knows I can use reminders:

— 3 —

I am  all about fast food this month. My go-to staples look at lot like this:

Add in ample amounts of Greek yogurt and homemade decaf lattes and you have a pretty complete picture of what is fueling this mom right now.

Actually, now that I look at this picture you wanna know something really funny?  There was an apple in there.  I swear there was.  Guess when I turned around to grab the camera I left it wide open…

— 4 —

Number of times the children set off the rental car alarm yesterday?  

Seven. 

I am not sure we are ready for urban living LOL. 

— 5 —

I have long declared that I was not made for jogging. 

Seems I was wrong.

Dh has steadfastly maintained that if I tried to jog for just a wee bit of my treadmill routine that I would in fact be able to go a little farther as time went by.  And so I am.  I can't go far and I can't go fast but I CAN go. If you are hankering for a 4 minute jog, give me a call.  I can so go with. 

— 6 —

Our air shipment is winging its way to our new home. That went reasonably well.  My nerves were a bit jangled listening to my dishes clang together.  The big move guy is coming this morning to walk through the house.  We are going to talk about china.  'Cause its going. And it better not clang. 

— 7 —

 One of the less romantic realities of rural living is the septic tank.  Things you normally think very little about must be attended to rather deliberately when you own your own utilities.  We did just that this week.  The cement tank itself is buried underground and the lids must be located before it can be serviced.  There was no shortage of diggers to help with this job as you can see.  

 (some little boys like to pick out their own clothes.  That's all I'm sayin'…)

They have been troopers throughout.  They were enthusiastic about the digging and enthusiastic about the filling back in.  We are easily amused. ; ) 

Here's what's shakin' for then end of first week of family separation.  

— 1 —

I have learned I can make a bar of Lindt 70% dark chocolate last a whole week if I play my cards right. The advantages may or may not outweigh the obvious challenges involved.  

— 2 —

The first of the three sets of movers is coming by today for a 'visual survey.'  Hope he has a strong constitution. <g> This move is complicated by the sheer volume of stuff – live and otherwise- we had to relocate and the number of places it is all going.  We have the small shipment of stuff that is going by air, the large shipment of stuff going by sea, the stuff that is going into storage, and the stuff that I hope to never see again which is going out the door. All the movers of these groups of stuff must come and look at the stuff before removing it. 

I am installing a revolving door and handing everyone a hard hat upon entrance. 

— 3 —

We learned how to use the webcam this week.  Where have you been all our lives webcam?? Pretty amazing to see 'Skype-Daddy' onscreen.  Sounds really hip-hop doesn't it?  Wild. 

Call me Jane:

 The whole thing is a little surreal and I admit that the whole idea of 'virtual family' is not without its theoretical problems.  However the alternative is that we don't see get to each other at all and that isn't better.  I am grateful for the opportunity to keep connected.  Little ones talk to Daddy and the big brothers get to watch the little kids grow up and stay an integral part of their lives. 

— 4 —

Speaking of which Kieran rode along with me to an appt this week.  When we got to the base he asked if I would take him by Dad's office.  Then he looked out the window quietly and said, "Oh yeah…"  

Happens to me too, Buddy. : /  

— 5 —

Thought of a young friend of mine when I heard this on the radio. 

"You're gonna do great things, 

I already know, 

God's got a plan for you,

So don't live life in fear,

Forgive and forget, but don't forget why you're here…"

You are bigger than your circumstances and this too shall pass.  

— 6 —

Thermostat or Thermometer? Best line I have heard in a long time from Kelle Hampton.

"My dad always says to be a thermostat and not a thermometer. Thermometers only measure the temperatures around them. Thermostats change them."

— 7 —

Favorite song on my playlist (left) at the moment? Number 39 –  I Love You Sweet Baby.  Tell me this doesn't pretty much cover it. : )   Off to kiss these hands….

Chaser of bad guys,

thinker of big thoughts,

fighter of crime,

man among men, 

My favorite five year old Super Hero.  : )