It's been a ____ Summer.

I have typed and re-typed this blog for weeks.  I usually end up staring at the screen and eventually putting it off for another day.  I have been struggling to find the right words.  I'll just go with these:

It's been a _________ Summer.

 



It's been a fun Summer.  We spent April through July living near the beach.  Chris took a job down South in October of 2012 and we finally made it down there to join him in April.  It was fun.  The atmosphere, the change of scenery, and the people were all very fun.  We enjoyed being in a new place where we didn't know anyone and getting to live the life we thought we wanted.

It's been a stressful Summer. Shortly after we moved I realized that I had to get a job to help bring in some income.  Our house in Birmingham was still on the market and now we had a whole other set of bills with our rental house - two monthly mortgages, two water bills, two power bills, etc.  It added up and FAST! I took a waitressing job that I thought would only be a couple of nights a week and it turned into a full time job.   I stayed with the boys during the day until Chris got home at 4:30.  We had just enough time to say hi and bye and I was off to work until midnight or later.  I am thankful for my time at this job for lots of reasons.  The main one is that I was able to contribute to my family and keep us from falling behind.  It felt good to be able to pay our bills even if there was not much left over.  I am thankful for this job because of the people I met.  I have been a stay at home mom since I found out I was pregnant with Walker four years ago.  I was in a Moms group but I stopped going once I became pregnant with Wyatt and I do not have many girl friends. Although I would have rather been at home having dinner with my family each night, I did enjoy interactions with other people that I never would have met otherwise. 

It's been a humbling Summer.  It's a hard thing to admit when you are wrong about something, especially such a BIG thing like moving across the state.  We were so excited to move and get away from everyone and everything.  We had some personal reasons for wanting to get away and some things happened leading up to our move that made us want to leave as soon as possible.  It took us about two months before we looked at each other and said, "What are we doing?" Chris and I didn't feel like it was our home.  We didn't want to make an impulsive decision so in June we decided that we would give it a year, until the next April, and then we would see how we felt.

It's been a scary Summer.  Not very long after we made the decision to give it more time my step-father was in a very bad accident.  We knew nothing about his condition except that we needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.  That was the longest drive of my entire life.  We were stuck in traffic at the site of the accident and had to pass what was left of his 18-wheeler, which was not very much.  We arrived at the Burn/Trauma ICU and it was obvious that life had changed for our family dramatically and instantly.  It was then that we knew that we had to get home.  Four hours does not seem like very far away but when something like this happens, it is just too far.  We knew that we needed to be close to our family.

It's been a life changing Summer.  Now that we are back and I am able to reflect on our Summer I can honestly say that it was exactly what we needed. It was exactly what I needed.  I wasn't in a good place when we left and the time away from everyone to be on our own and live life for only ourselves helped us heal, taught us a lot about what we want in our lives and what we do not want.

 There are some changes that we have to make now that we are back and we are wasting no time making them.  One of the major changes is that we are trying desperately to find a home church.  We have wanted to find a church for a long time and now our children are old enough for us to begin our search.  We are re-painting most of the rooms in our house in an effort to brighten it up and hope that lighter, brighter colors will have a positive affect on the overall mood in our house.  We are trying to live more simply and enjoy the small things while living in the moment.  I have personal changes to make as well and I am working hard to surround myself with positive people.  I took a teaching job at a local Mother's Day Out program.  The hours are great, it's only a few days a week, and it will give my boys some time away from momma (and one another) to make friends and learn. I am trying to be more social and say YES more.  I am stepping out of my comfort zone in an effort to socialize - hello, ZUMBA! :) 

We are thankful for our time away because it helped us appreciate the life that we have and I feel beyond blessed to be back home living this life. Although it was only a few months, I can honestly say that our lives today are so much better because of our little Summer at the shore.