Monday, March 29, 2010

Now what?

So we're all moved and settled in our new home. It is amazing. And I am thankful every day for having had the opportunity to build our own home. Everything, down to the very last nook and knob turned out exactly how I had hoped.  It is so satisfying to be living inside something that started as a thought inside our over-ambitious heads! I am very lucky to have married such a fabulous carpenter!

I realized when we finished the house and I stopped updating this blog (and several people told me they missed the updates), that I actually missed posting updates.  So...I'm back.  Not that I'm very interesting or that our crazy life is anything more spectacular than anyone elses crazy life, but it's at least a place for people to see what we're up to and hear some of the thoughts that live in my scattered mind!

So when we first moved into the house and got settled, I looked around and said to myself "Now what?" Somehow I thought when the house was finished and we were no longer pre-occupied with installing floors, painting window trim, tracking invoices, dealing with the bank, and all the other details of building a house, that we would find ourselves with all this free time on our hands. I imagined lazy afternoons playing in the yard. I imagined weekends full of exploring the hiking trails down the road and getting our kayaks back in the water; afternoons strolling Main Street and trips to the Children's Museum and the Aquarium. I imagined frequent yoga classes and finding my inner zen-ness. I imagined getting to work on time, no, getting there early, and being amazingly productive now that my head was clear of all this house-building nonsense. I imagined delectible aromas coming from my new kitchen because, with so much time on my hands, I would become a gourmet cook and perfectly prepare all of the recipes I have ever clipped, becoming the envy of my neighbors for both my domestic skills and my career and the way I so gracefully and effortlessly balance home life and working full time. Um...SOOO not the case. Just because we finished the house doesn't mean I stepped into a fairy tale.  Life is still like trying to catch a speeding train.

This speeding train is due in part to the fact that we haven't settled into a routine yet. I thank the various flu viruses and other germs that have taken up temporary residence with us for this lack of routine. When we forwarded our mail I'm pretty sure we specified the names of the people to be residing there.  We did not list, for example...two week hacking cough cold/flu, nasty stomach bug, febrile siezure bastard, nor sinus cold turned ear infection turned ruptured membrane.  Yet, all of these characters have been unwelcomed guests in our house, and in our poor little Brody, since moving to the new house. 

The speeding train is also due in part to my new friend, insomnia. She is more of a stalker than a friend actually.  She thinks I should fear new fever-inducing viruses breaking into the house and that I should worry the night away that Brody will have another seizure.  So she keeps me up listening for any sign of distress coming from Brody's room.  Of course, after being up all night with her, it's impossible to get out of bed in the morning...thus making us all late and hindering the creation of that much needed routine. I hear that spring is just around the corner, although you never can tell in New England, and those germs will take a vacation and hopefully I can get some rest.

Despite the germs and the lack of sleep, life is very good.  We have been able to enjoy the sunshine (where did that go anyway?) on our front porch and play in the yard until dinner time.  I have had plenty of time to cook...although not the gourmet meals in my dreams.  Brody's has turned into a muffin junky and so I bake muffins every week to support his habit.  We did find the time to make a trip to the aquarium last weekend.  Ummm...was it always that small?  We also were able to make a trip to the hospital to meet the newest members of the McCarthy family - little Matthew and Meghan McCarthy - the cutest (and largest) newborn twins I have ever seen!

So life is good...and we are grateful for everything in it...and I promise there will be fewer words from me and more pictures in later posts!