What Moving Tells Me About Me....plus a few other random observations

Moving Sucks. No way around it, it just stinks. It's exhausting physically and emotionally, especially if you happen to be gluttons for punishment and decide to make two 1800+ mile moves in a mere 15 months. (Whoa! Who in the world would decide to do that?????)  Anyhoo, here are some of my thoughts and observations from the past week or so...from my journal to your ears. I really just want to bless your day with my deep thoughts.

#1~I like to feel sorry for myself and cry sometimes because, you know, my life is hard. (Read that in a whiny, teary, privileged American voice.)

#2 (relates to #1)~I actually say things to myself like, "Suck it up, Buttercup, and get crap done!"

#3~Once I finally stop feeling sorry for myself and get to work, I'm task oriented and I can get crap done, y'all. Project ADD is not one of my weaknesses. Well, usually.

#4~I do not dust as often as I should.

#5~ I also do not vacuum under the couch cushions as often as I should. It's my prepper mentality. Zombie apocalypse?  No problem! Just raise the couch cushions and you've got meals for a week! (And pens, paper, bobby pins, hair ties, popsicle sticks, random wrappers, and dog hair.)

#6~Speaking of dog hair. I concede. I can fight no more forever. Trust me, owners of black labradors, you delude yourselves if you think you can win this war, armed though you may be with Swiffer, vacuum, and broom.

#7~I can deal with the chaos and disorder if my kitchen is in some state of clean. ("What? Oh, the world is blowing up around me?  I'll just go do the dishes!")

#8~When attempting two cross-country moves in 15 months, your precious possessions become the enemy. ("Are you absolutely certain we need that youngest kid? She does take up a lot of room with her yarn, books, and tea!")

#9~Taking a little time to sit, ALONE, with a cup of coffee and my journal, becomes a survival skill rather than an indulgence. Don't talk to me and don't deny me a few stinkin' minutes of peace in the morning. Unless you want things to get ugly.

#10~Rolls of packing tape and those tape gun things are tools of Satan.

#11~I only wash curtains when we move. Or when friends visit and their dog pees on them.

#12~Rugs cover a multitude of sins.

#13~Year-round warm weather = ceiling fans that are on year-round = invisible dust on the blades. If I can't see it, it obviously doesn't exist. Duh.

#14~I am obviously stalling by writing a blog post. It is time to get a move on.

I love y'all!

Practicing Grace

It's been a tough few weeks around here, folks. Big decisions being made. Career changes. Yet another 1800 mile cross country move. We are stressed, tired, overwhelmed, and sometimes thinking we might have a touch of the crazy. (Ok...maybe more than a touch.) Packing has commenced and, once again, we are living in the disorganization of preparing for relocation.

Emotions are all over the map. One minute thoughts are exciting and rosy--eager for the adventure of the unknown. The next minute brings panic and something akin to, "What the hell are we doing? Have we gone completely bonkers?" (Why yes, yes we have. But that's ok.) Unsurprisingly, we've experienced anger, hurt, fear, nervousness, worry, but every day is better than the day before as we grow used to, and embrace, the coming changes.

From the moment this craziness began, we made a pact. After 21 years of marriage, we know that stress can breed ugliness--words spoken that aren't really meant, fights that would never have happened otherwise, irritation over things that would normally be overlooked. So we made a pact to have grace for each other. Lots and lots of grace. Guess what? It's worked. Grace works. In those moments when an argument is imminent over some dumb thing, we've worked hard to stop and remember that this is stress talking. A long hug and a deep breath help remedy the ugliness, bringing a calm. Yes, I am proud of us. Life is hard enough. No need to worsen the trials with harsh or unloving words that accomplish nothing beyond hurt. Joy, peace, and laughter, even in the midst of stress. It's all about giving grace. To practice grace every single day, in every relationship and in every situation, is a goal worthy of our very best effort.

Love you, JP.  Here's to a relationship full of grace, love, laughter, and a touch of the crazy!

Moving On

It's official.  The Pierson family is leaving Montana. I realize that we tried this a couple of years ago, to no avail. This time it's for real.  I promise. Jay got a new job near Katy, TX and we'll be heading down there at the end of this month.  It's happened so quickly that we are in a bit of a daze and a teeeeeny bit overwhelmed, but doing well nonetheless. We asked God to go before us and make a way if this was His will for our family and I can't even begin to tell you the amazing things He has done. I shall save that for a future post.

As I sit here typing this, we are in the throes of a nasty spring storm full of rain/sleet/snow.  It certainly makes the leaving a bit easier for me, I have to admit. I will not miss 9 months of winter.  Nope...not at all. I look forward to not having cold feet.  It will be a new and lovely thing to live in a place where one can actually have a winter garden!  I'm quite stoked to learn all about gardening in South Texas and have already contacted several CSA's, Farmer's Markets, and organic farms. Priorities, don't you know. ;)

Montana is a beautiful, rugged place to live.  We will miss our amazing views of the Spanish Peaks and the Bridger Mountains.  We'll miss the spring and summer hiking. Montana summers can be a most wonderful thing. Most of all, of course, we will miss the people we love.  In the past 19 years we've been blessed with amazing friends who have become our family and it hurts my heart to have to say goodbye.  For now, however, I'm not going to think about that. I choose to pull a Scarlett O'Hara and think about that tomorrow.

Now it's time to get back to cleaning out, sorting, and packing.

Love to you all!

Letting Go

It is official.  My boy is heading out.  He turned 18 on Christmas Eve, got a phone call with a job offer from my brother, Mike, and bought a plane ticket to Austin for January 14.  As a parent, letting go is difficult. It is emotional.  It is also an exciting time.  We are happy to see him moving on, leaving his time of life as a boy and becoming a man. My friend, Becky, and I were talking the other day about how we are one of the few cultures that doesn't have a celebration or any kind of rite of passage for our kids.  I wonder if perhaps that makes it more difficult for our kids to break free or for us as parents to let go.  But all kids leave home eventually to pursue a life of their own.  I am happy for my boy and curious about how this next season of our lives will look.  It will be a strange thing to only have 2 kids at home.  Anyway, here are a few photos of Shelby over the years.  They make me smile.

Ain't Nothin' Certain but Change

My how quickly life can change.  Just a few days ago we were packing up our house and getting prepared for the 1600 mile move to Texas.  Now we are sitting in our house looking at all of the boxes and wondering what in the world we are to do. Do we leave things packed and wait and see what happens?  Do we unpack so that nobody (that would be me) goes insane living in a mess? We truly have been in shock with this latest turn of events.

So just in case you haven't seen or heard...Texas is on fire.  The biggest fire down there right now is in Bastrop County. As of this morning, the fire has burned around 40,000 acres and the confirmed count of burned homes is up to 1,386.  It is absolutely horrifying and completely devastating to thousands of people. There are many other fires burning in the area, basically all around Austin.  The house we rented is directly in the line of the Union Chapel fire, but we did hear this morning that fire is at 90% containment this morning. The Bastrop fire is only at 30%.   Here are a few pics...



View of a smoke-filled Austin

Near Bastrop

Bastrop County

When Jay and I first went to Bastrop, we fell in love with the quaint little town and decided it was where we would choose to live.  The area is so beautiful and tree covered, the people friendly and open-hearted.  It breaks our hearts to see the devastation caused by these fires. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone down there. Lord, please send rain.