Well, a lot has changed in the last seven days for our little family! We live in Tennessee now!
Phew.
It makes me tired just to type that.
It really does seem like a month ago that Bo and I were going to our favorite spots and meeting friends for goodbyes.
Remember this moment, Bo. It's your last view of the ocean and the last time you'll ever wear a jacket in June.
We said goodbye to some and "see you later" to others. Even though we really won't see them later . . . not until we make plans to cross state lines. It just gets hard and tearful and nobody wants that.
Our last family night in Long Island we went for ice cream for the first time this year . . . and also the last time . . . but it was a walk we had made many times over the past three summers and it was a perfect farewell to the island. Also we were heckled and honked at. But that's Long Island.
And this very flattering family picture.
And the next morning I was gone. Bo and I were on a plane by 6:30 am.
Goodbye little white house. In the best of times you were a romantic cottage by the sea, nestled in a meadow of wild flowers and visited by fawns and fairies. In the worst of times you were a crumbling shack in danger of being swallowed by a field of poison ivy housing an army of ticks, 85% of them carrying lymes disease.
Me, overreact?
Even though I sometimes felt like that house would be the end of me, I know that in my memories it will be seen through rose colored glasses. It's only been a week and already I remember it fondly. It was home to our little nursery that we worked so hard to get ready for our sweet baby boy. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows out in that meadow and watched the sparks drift upward towards the stars. We watched deer creep up to eat outside our window and owls swoop down for their dinner. The crunch of tires on dirt that meant I would soon see a flash of white and Matt's truck would appear in the driveway. Watching the swans circle in the bay and the sun set into gold water.
Goodbye.
And then, there we were. In Nashville. Bo and I spent a couple days in Murray while Matt and his brother and dad loaded and drove the truck down to us. They drove through Virginia right after the storm but God provided for them by way of a gas station at JUST the right moment and a cancelation made way for them at a hotel with power. And then it was 105 degrees when they arrived and unloaded in the heat of the day.
But we slept so well in our climate-controled rooms.
No roaring window units here.
I know some of you were probably worried about this guy:
Well, he's just fine. He travels better than the rest of us.
We are moving just down the road from this little man. He is an excellent helper at moving, very strong, and can really make his cousin Bo laugh.
So we're really pleased with our house . . . but it looks like this right now:
It's a bit rough but I just have to glance at the dishwasher to feel cheered. Or listen to the quiet hum of the central AC. Of course those are just material things but after a couple years without them, we are appreciating them!!
I leave you with this- a laughing Bo in his Radio Flyer on the 4th of July.
Now y'all get down here and visit!
