May Musings

As usual, late April and May are very busy times in our family. Starting with Connor's birthday, then moving on to Mother's Day, our anniversary, my birthday and Taya's birthday and throw in a whole bunch of other stuff like kids' activities, volunteering, piano recitals and visitors, and there are few minutes to spare. Spring has finally arrived, a few weeks later than usual, but now everything is green and full and beautiful.

We are gearing up to move next month, as well. We're staying in our neighborhood - moving about 200 yards up the road. It all came about very suddenly, but it became obvious that moving was going to be a very prudent decision. In addition to needing to replace our roof this summer and restain the whole deck, we were also wanting to put in a pool, travel, and start saving for me to go back to school. Well, since money does not grow on the trees in our particular forest, we chose to downsize. The bonus is that even though we'll end up with a smaller house and yard, we gain a finished basement and a backyard pool! Those were definite selling features for the kids.

It really all happened so fast - one minute we were discussing plans for the future, the next we were putting an offer on a house. It just so happened that a near-perfect-for-us house had just been listed, and we had to take advantage quickly. We knew we didn't want to leave our neighborhood, where the kids have lots of friends within walking distance, and very few houses come up for sale in this neighborhood. It all seemed meant to be. While I'm not looking forward to the actual move, and we will most definitely miss this yard, we're looking forward to the pool, to much smaller utility bills, to lower property tax, and to the freedom that comes with knowing you've made a wise, albeit difficult, decision. All the purging and decluttering is an added bonus. It feels really, really good to get rid of so much extra stuff that we were only keeping because we had so much extra space. I am a firm believer that stuff literally and figuratively weighs a person down.

On another note, I've reached the milestone of "late thirties." I can no longer say I'm in my mid-thirties. Birthdays always bring mixed feelings, because I always feel that the actual number is in no way representative of how old I feel (maybe 22), but I'm also incredibly thankful for each birthday, that I am blessed to turn older. And, just for me perhaps, the world did not end before I could turn 37. It was a great day of relaxation, family, gifts, dinner and a movie with friends. Stefan surprised me with a hotel reservation in Green Bay, Wisconsin at the end of September. Assuming that there is a football season this fall (they're on strike currently), we will be spending 3 nights in Green Bay, and I will get to experience Lambeau Field in person. I am ridiculously excited about this and just keeping my fingers crossed that the strike ends in time.

It's a busy week ahead as we get ready to celebrate our little/big girl turning 7! Hard to believe she is so grown up already. She is a spark of fun in our family - she keeps us laughing and can sneak up on anyone and give them a big scare. She is very creative - never stops coloring and drawing and dancing. We sure love our Taya!

And now I need to get the kids to bed, so I can watch a movie with a friend. Ciao!