PART 1: Our Journey is Still New (A Year in Review)
Such lofty plans I had for this blog. Change of scenery = new blog = new life = lots of interesting and new things to write about.
It would be a way to stay connected and keep people updated. Clay was going to write posts. We were going to take turns. Such plans.
And so many blog posts did I compose in my head...so many witty quips to share. So many pictures of places and things. So many thoughts and feelings felt. But alas, it was not written for posterity or for anyone. But here are the highlights. With some prayer, resolve, and some discipline, I hope to be more consistent...but I cannot make any promises. I'll start with a small goal - 6 posts a year. (That will double last year's post count!) Baby steps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER... (It has been quite the year. This WILL be a LONG post. Not snack sized. Not visually appealing. If you only read a few paragraphs, I won't be offended.) In fact, as I write, I'm thinking this will be a mini series (At least 3 episodes).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My last post was in October. October was when living on one salary was starting to get really real. I needed a job. STAT! But I had a problem...I had no current experience in California. This is a small town. Local experience needed to establish trust and credibility. So, I volunteered at the Children's Desk at the local library and at Morning Star Youth Ranch. I started to see people and feel like a productive member of society, elated to no longer be a shut-in with a great view. My job searching picked up because I was not just staring at the same job ads all day. Being around people gave me things to talk about and stories to tell. I became a much more interesting person. Things were looking up!
November came around... I got a job!!! I did not know at the time, what an incredible job I would have. It just felt good to be employed. This news came just before we had our first visitors. The timing was perfect! It was great to have good news to share and so many things to celebrate (my job & my mother-in-law's birthday). Clay's family came for a pre-Thanksgiving weekend. We packed a punch with their visit and we all wore ourselves out. We took them wine tasting at Rangeland, olive oil tasting at Pasolivo, to Avila Valley Barn, the Avila Lighthouse, Port San Luis, McPhee's in Templeton for a steak dinner, and to The Madonna Inn for breakfast.
This was a bittersweet thing because we had so much fun with their visit, but the Thanksgiving day letdown was pretty rough. When you live across the country from family and friends and you are not yet established in your community, it can be a bit lonely. We busied ourselves working during the week and being tourists on the weekends. This strategy served to distract us from loneliness much of the time.
But sometimes...like your first big holiday with no one....sometimes, holidays can be acutely painful. And you become bitterly aware that Southern hospitality is something you always took for granted.
We made the best of it. We ate a fancy meal at a hotel in town (that way, we'd see some other people), and we took the puppies on their first long walk on a trail by the river. Looking back, I think this is when Barkley decided that he would find a way to freedom and master jumping over the fence.
December was welcomed with a magical and beautiful tree lighting ceremony in the square. Candles were passed out, and we sang Christmas Carols from song books. Santa came, and Jack Sparrow (because the Grinch was on vacation). The air was crisp and the lights were twinkly, and it was wondrous. Clay and I didn't know anyone there, but we felt part of something bigger than us. Something sacred and beautiful.
The next most beautiful moment in December was Christmas Eve with the Guppys in Houston. Drinking hot chocolate and singing Christmas Carols on their "Log Cabin" porch was everything Christmas should be. Hymns and beautiful music, snuggling in blankets, warm drinks, and sweet memories with friends and family.
Christmas day was a blur of activity, and I honestly do not remember much of it. My sister was still sick (though much improved) and Clay had just learned that he may have cancer. These things were heavy on our minds.
In the days following Christmas, we braved traffic (Oh! how we forgot what traffic was) to visit friends near and far. It seemed our time with old friends was far shorter than the time we spent sitting on the road. Though I'm sure that's not entirely true. Time feels slower when you're miserable and hastens when you're having fun. We were blessed to spend some time with Clay's cousin Keeley and his family. They are the only extended family on Clay's side we've seen since we moved. We were also able to visit with Matt, Leslie, Osborn, Nadine, Lindsay, Davey, Shelley, Greg, Linzay, and my Cypress peeps Elisa, Ruby, Erin, Gabby, Abby, Lindsay, and RJ. There were so many more people we wished we could have visited, and these sweet visits brought with them the awareness that the next time we saw our friends would be many months away.
Christmas to me always represents hope. Hope for the future. Hope for humanity. We left Houston with many hopes. Hopes for good news or at least a good outcome for Clay. Hopes for friendships and community to blossom in California, and hopes for changed hearts. For learning, growing, and understanding our time and place somewhere far away from what we've always known. We both felt and feel that we were destined for this place for a time, that we are where we're supposed to be. There is both comfort and uncertainty in this knowledge. And so we bravely ventured forth into a new calendar year. Full of hope and expectation.
It would be a way to stay connected and keep people updated. Clay was going to write posts. We were going to take turns. Such plans.
And so many blog posts did I compose in my head...so many witty quips to share. So many pictures of places and things. So many thoughts and feelings felt. But alas, it was not written for posterity or for anyone. But here are the highlights. With some prayer, resolve, and some discipline, I hope to be more consistent...but I cannot make any promises. I'll start with a small goal - 6 posts a year. (That will double last year's post count!) Baby steps.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DISCLAIMER... (It has been quite the year. This WILL be a LONG post. Not snack sized. Not visually appealing. If you only read a few paragraphs, I won't be offended.) In fact, as I write, I'm thinking this will be a mini series (At least 3 episodes).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My last post was in October. October was when living on one salary was starting to get really real. I needed a job. STAT! But I had a problem...I had no current experience in California. This is a small town. Local experience needed to establish trust and credibility. So, I volunteered at the Children's Desk at the local library and at Morning Star Youth Ranch. I started to see people and feel like a productive member of society, elated to no longer be a shut-in with a great view. My job searching picked up because I was not just staring at the same job ads all day. Being around people gave me things to talk about and stories to tell. I became a much more interesting person. Things were looking up!
November came around... I got a job!!! I did not know at the time, what an incredible job I would have. It just felt good to be employed. This news came just before we had our first visitors. The timing was perfect! It was great to have good news to share and so many things to celebrate (my job & my mother-in-law's birthday). Clay's family came for a pre-Thanksgiving weekend. We packed a punch with their visit and we all wore ourselves out. We took them wine tasting at Rangeland, olive oil tasting at Pasolivo, to Avila Valley Barn, the Avila Lighthouse, Port San Luis, McPhee's in Templeton for a steak dinner, and to The Madonna Inn for breakfast.
This was a bittersweet thing because we had so much fun with their visit, but the Thanksgiving day letdown was pretty rough. When you live across the country from family and friends and you are not yet established in your community, it can be a bit lonely. We busied ourselves working during the week and being tourists on the weekends. This strategy served to distract us from loneliness much of the time.
But sometimes...like your first big holiday with no one....sometimes, holidays can be acutely painful. And you become bitterly aware that Southern hospitality is something you always took for granted.
We made the best of it. We ate a fancy meal at a hotel in town (that way, we'd see some other people), and we took the puppies on their first long walk on a trail by the river. Looking back, I think this is when Barkley decided that he would find a way to freedom and master jumping over the fence.
December was welcomed with a magical and beautiful tree lighting ceremony in the square. Candles were passed out, and we sang Christmas Carols from song books. Santa came, and Jack Sparrow (because the Grinch was on vacation). The air was crisp and the lights were twinkly, and it was wondrous. Clay and I didn't know anyone there, but we felt part of something bigger than us. Something sacred and beautiful.
The next most beautiful moment in December was Christmas Eve with the Guppys in Houston. Drinking hot chocolate and singing Christmas Carols on their "Log Cabin" porch was everything Christmas should be. Hymns and beautiful music, snuggling in blankets, warm drinks, and sweet memories with friends and family.
 |
In the days following Christmas, we braved traffic (Oh! how we forgot what traffic was) to visit friends near and far. It seemed our time with old friends was far shorter than the time we spent sitting on the road. Though I'm sure that's not entirely true. Time feels slower when you're miserable and hastens when you're having fun. We were blessed to spend some time with Clay's cousin Keeley and his family. They are the only extended family on Clay's side we've seen since we moved. We were also able to visit with Matt, Leslie, Osborn, Nadine, Lindsay, Davey, Shelley, Greg, Linzay, and my Cypress peeps Elisa, Ruby, Erin, Gabby, Abby, Lindsay, and RJ. There were so many more people we wished we could have visited, and these sweet visits brought with them the awareness that the next time we saw our friends would be many months away.
 |
Comments
Post a Comment