Growing Pains

We have been in this little apartment for nearly 4 months now. Usually I surprise myself when I say that...it doesn't seem that it has been that long. This morning I was sobered a bit by the reminder that we still have nearly that long to be here! It hasn't been a bad experience by any means, even with the excitement of last week.

It has been an interesting phase of our lives. The last time I lived in town, within walking distance of things was when we briefly house-sat in Carnation, WA for about 4-6 months when I was in 7th grade. We lived right in town in Boise, ID, when I was aged 1 to 4. Apart from those 2 times, I have been a country girl. We have enjoyed living close enough this winter to walk to the park and to visit friends. We have enjoyed exploring Waynesburg and shopping at the little shops that we never stopped at when driving. J has been so upset about all of the litter, that I have promised her a "Trash Walk" some day soon, when we take a trash bag with us and pick up all we see.

And yet, there are down sides too. We are in closer proximity to each other 24/7, than is comfortable all the time. The girls miss their toys. I miss my kitchen stuff, and space to work. I am still not used to all the road noise. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a minor discomfort compared to what some of my friends are facing in their lives right now. J broke down in tears yesterday afternoon, saying that she missed her house and her journal (which was inadvertently packed). Daddy is concerned that L won't remember the first house on the hill.

These gray days, cold weather, and mud are beginning to make me feel like a trapped animal. I am almost desperate enough to gnaw off my paw in order to escape.

Only 15 more days until SPRING!

T

And the other good thing about living in town...

Now that the family seems to have come through the tunnel of illness and we can see sunshine on the other side again, "normal" life must resume. I try to think of one thing about this housing situation every day that is positive. It is really not bad here, truly. We are comfortable, warm and have the things we need literally right at our fingertips. A strange thing happens most afternoons, however. Around 4:00 the walls start closing in and we need to get OUT, OUT, OUT! It is really nice that everything is in walking distance.

For some reason, J did not want to walk to the playground today, so I enticed the girls out by telling them they could take some money out of their piggy banks and buy a snack at the gas station up the street. Once they had chips in hand, we strolled along the sidewalks toward down town, looking at Christmas displays and finding the entire alphabet on signs. We enjoyed looking around in Honey Bees and the 10,000 Villages shop. The girls were amazed by the giant Christmas tree at the Courthouse with "candies" on it as big as their heads.

Our 30 minute outing stretched into nearly an hour. We came home happy and refreshed. Don't be surprise if one day we show up at your doorstep around 4:15!

T