About Moving...

I'll be back later with some cards, but for now you might call this venting...

I ran into a teacher from the middle school last night at the grocery store. I haven't talked to her in a year or so, because we didn't have anyone in the middle school this school year. After I mentioned that we were moving, she got a really sad look on her face and said "I'm sorry" like someone had died or something! She inquired about each of the kids and asked, "How is ..... doing?" with so much concern in her demeanor, so much that I began to worry about her. I did explain to her that we take it all in stride and it's a good thing. We look forward to meeting new people, blah..blah..blah...

Moving away from here is not the end of our life, it's a new beginning. Don't get me wrong, this is a great community. I've run into a lot of people here that have been here all of their lives. A lot of the teachers went through this school system. It is a wonderful community, but it's not the only wonderful community in the United States or the world. What I've learned from moving around is that they are many great communities and many wonderful, kind, caring, and concerned citizens in America. I have made lifelong friends in each town we've lived. I look at moving as an opportunity...a blessing not a curse.

I laugh each time my sister-friend, Gail (I have a Gail like Oprah does) from back home tells me I need to write a book about moving. Not only am I not a writer, but I am not an expert. I am learning from experience with each move. For instance, with the last move, I thought I was going to get a hernia when I lifted the change jar into the van. (I think I got my husband to take it out of the van and into the new place. see.... I learned.) Remembering that incident as I moved the change jar before the open house the other day, I decided to try something different this time. Over the next few nights, I rolled the coins. On Wednesday, I deposited the money in the bank. That's one less thing we have to worry about.

In case you are wondering, we've moved 6 times in 16 years. --That's nothing compared to some of the military families I know. At least to some extent, we have a choice. Overall, it has been a good experience. We've gotten to know different parts of the country. I think it has been good for the kids too. They are not so afraid of change. It does get tough in the high school years, but I've seen them overcome even those difficulties... and live to write about it. (I have a journalist in the bunch) My girls are stronger and sure of themselves because each time we move, they are forced to make decisions about what kind of kids will be their friends. When I was growing up, I lived in the same house from age two until I moved out to go to college. During the teen years, when personalities evolved and there was a lot of peer pressure to go along with the group, it was tough to stand alone sometimes.

Moving is not without difficulties. t's lonely in a new town. But as I was just telling my daughter, thank God for technology! (...remind me that I said that the next time technology frustrates me!) Because of cell phones and the Internet, we can stay in touch with people we already know while we are getting to know the new area. My computer routine is the same as it was two moves ago. I have friends on the Internet that I "talk" to daily. I go to the same bulletin boards including Gingerwood Bulletin Board that helped me find new friends here. Now that I've added blogging, and blurfing ( a term Allison uses for blog surfing) I've met even more new friends on the Internet.

As you probably can tell, moving is a full time job, and I need to get off the computer and back to my cleaning for the day. If you have read this far, I thank you sooo much for "listening"... I'm going to leave you with the first of the pictures of "things I am going to miss about this place".

1. my purple kitchen with the Tiffany style lighting.