Here is the Plan...At Least, I Think So

So, here we go again! Two more months at home in the mountains and we will be back to packing up and traveling. Sweet husband of mine has finished his testing and we are heading to clinicals in Florida! Back to the sunshine and heat for us. We are off to Miami! For as long as I can remember, GracieBug has been convinced that Miami where her cousins live is actually "her ami". Get it? I am not saying anyone reading this isn't quick on the uptake or however that goes, but it took me a minute. She would get so upset with me when I said, "we are going to Miami." Her response would be, "No MY ami." I would say, "Yes...that is what I said..." This would happen...frequently...on our travels back and forth to Miami from the Caribbean. I remember our first such conversation on the plane.
"MY ami,"she says to my claim that we are almost to Miami.
"That is what I said!" Huffing and deep sighs of frustration from small one would follow.
"It's not You ami. It MY ami," she stresses to me in her biggest authorative voice she could muster. Silence. Oh, I get it now. But just how do I explain to her that it isn't anyone's ami? It is just Miami. I try the logical approach of this line of thought. Nope. Only more frustration. Finally, after much discussion on the plane with other passengers snickering about us I give in to her logic.
"Yes, we are going to YourAmi."
Upon landing in "YourAmi" the flight attendant welcomes us to Miami and Gracie shakes her head and rolls her eyes. When WILL these old people get it? So, getting off the plane she politely informs the attendant, "It's MYami." Right.
So everyone, it is almost official. We are heading to MYami or somewhere around there, but not quite there. It is just another of the many destinations on our way. It has been an interesting journey thus far and we are hanging in there. It has also been 2 1/2 years since our LID for MeiMei. We are still waiting and longing. That has been a journey unto itself and one I will share more about later. Right now, I am listening to the sounds of my girl sleep and I am starting to doze off a bit myself.

Life is good.

Our Crazy Beautiful Life

It is simple. Moving. Adjusting. Teaching again. Balancing. So much and so little time. I miss blogging and visiting all those inspiring blogs out there, but life has been crazy.
December rolled around and while still swallowing the idea that we were actually finished with our international adventure (at least for a while) I crammed suitcases full of everything important. We left more in Grenada than we brought back. We left all of Gracie's toys (not many), clothing, books, shoes, printers, bedding and more. I separated everything into boxes for the people I wanted to give it to. I thought about how different I have become. I still have things that are precious to me- things I cherish, but I don't hold on to everything anymore. I have finally learned that things are truly things. In the grand scheme, they are of little value. Simplicity. Thank you, Thoreau. After two and a half years of moving from continent to continent to island and back, I have learned the value of living simply. "Simplify, simplify, simplify," Thoreau wrote. It is a good feeling not being attached to things, but rather experiences and people.
Our suitcases and our memories. What an amazing experience the last few years have been. Thinking back to the year when our daughter was only 2 and we made the decision to leave our life as teachers and chaplains, leave our home, family, and friends, leave our belongings, and head out on this adventure. I remember feeling it was the right decision but being a little afraid of the future. We went to Grenada knowing no one. It was a tough first few weeks in the land of sun and beaches and blue skies. Gracie and I shed quite a few lonely tears. But life is to be fully embraced. So, embraced it we did! 5 months later on a moments notice, we packed our bags and headed to England where Matt was a part of the Global Scholars Program through SGU.
Living in our little flat on a lovely street in Newcastle England was one of the most precious times of our marriage. Our flat of 690 square feet was a cozy sweet home and the smallest we had lived in as a family. The back windows looked out over an old cementary while the front windows looked out upon the rowhouses and giant gates to yet another ancient cementary. I loved it. Gracie loved it. We spent our mornings having tea and reading together. We had "school time" and then bundled up for our walk to the park where we ambled among flowers, along the river and down the path of the small farm zoo. With rosy cold cheeks after our brisk walk home we would have watercress and egg sandwiches and more tea. Flower shops, bookstores, tea houses, and city centre meadering made up our days while Matt studied. Weekends were spent with our trusty Saab traversing the country roads of Northern England and Scotland, visiting lakes, castles, and ruins. Life was like a deep breath of fresh air.
I have thought back on what made it so great for us and it wasn't just the history and literature that breathes out of every corner, but it the quiet simple family time. I miss our little life there and am so glad for the adventure, for the moments and for the lessons learned.
Then, another year was over and we were back to Grenada for another year. I feel it was just yesterday that we landed in Grenada again and drove to what we affectionately called our "batcave" for the lovely number of additional residents. It was a simple slow life, but one so full of experiences. I finally overcame my fear of depth and sharks. I learned to scuba dive and became certified. My wonderful Grenada ladies and I formed our book club. We discussed our books, ate incredible food, shared our homes and lives with one another. Most of all, we shared our experience of Grenada and England together. And what an experience it was. Amy had a newborn and then a little toddler by the time we left. Mel and Lauren became happily pregnant the 90 degree weather. We shared bug stories, sweat stories, grocery nightmares, and mean dog stories all while enjoying the pleaure of eachother's company and friendship. I miss them each already.
We moved to a beautiful little home on the beach where we enjoyed key limes and other tropical fruits from our backyard, a small but perfectly refreshing pool, and of course the beach that became our backyard. It was a once in a lifetime experience. What a beautiful place to call home.
After finally making it to the plane that last day in Grenada I thought of all that we were really taking with us and what we were leaving behind. We left behind the fears that we had arrived with two and a half years before and we left behind the baggage of a busy wrapped up worrisome life. Life was good. Life is good.
On the plane with two dogs, a 5 1/2 year old (no longer the 2 year old little one we came with), and 20 lbs of Grenada chocolate, I said goodbye knowing that I had grown and changed.
And although, life is getting crazy busy, it is actually nowhere near what it once was before we left for the islands. I just guess I learned a slower pace and going at a jog here is not all it is cracked up to be. But, we are enjoying it, savoring it, learning from it and growing some more.
It is good to be back to the Carolinas, enjoying family and friends, being in the classroom again and reverantly walking the aisles of a fully stocked and functional food market. Oh the simple, simple pleasures.
Where to next? In May we move again and I cannot be completely sure where we will be I do know that it will be another place of growth. Here's to being stretched! Life is good and God is so very very true to His promises.

It's Been Crazy Around Here!

It has been crazy!




Packing and selling and leaving and moving from Grenada....




Traveling and visiting




Holidays




Repacking and traveling




Finally home to Carolinas...





Unpacking...




Back to teaching teenagers after 3 years away....



Still unpacking




Starting homeschooling again...



Sigh....






Finding a routine (right)






But happy to settled!





"Mommy, you need to SLOW down!"
I have heard this one many a time from my wise (and quite bossy) 5 year old. But, it really has been especially crazy lately!
"Are we home yet?"
"Is this our new home?" This one was after the third stop on our long journey to getting settled back in the states in North Carolina. It has been so crazy I honestly had to think before answering her. Poor thing. It is time to stay put for a while. So, North Carolina it is... at least for 6 months...until Matt starts clinicals. As for now, we are enjoying Gramsy, NC, and all the joys of fresh produce, climate control and mosquito free living! Life is good! Grenada was a wonderful adventure and one I will say farewell to next time, but for tonight, I will just say, I am finally back to blogging! Hello again!

Graciebug Loves Her Cousins

We are off island! It was planned to be a restful fun vacation with Graciebug's cousins in Miami, but I brought the plague with me...And by plague I mean all the illness I had been carrying around in me for the past 4 months exploded into a full blown case of walking p. and a dash of acute bronchitis. What joy! So, after the weekend's celebration I hit the bed and have been enjoying Miami from the windows of the guestroom. Meanwhile, although all have been down with something or other the last few days, Graciebug is out of this world happy to be with her cousins. She loves them so much and I love seeing how excited she gets about whatever they are doing. From dress up to shopping excursions to being Auntie's shadow to homework at the table with J Will she is a happy happy girl. I am looking forward to getting her back to the states and getting involved in activities and friends and family. Our adventures have been amazing and no doubt I feel each one was a part of the ultimate plan for us, but it is time to just dig in to the soil and take up root for a while.

Here are some fun pics of Gracie and her cousins. I am missing from all pics as I look terribly unpleasant right now... :)

Shameful!

It has been an insane two weeks of sickness, elections, traveling to the US, holidays, and family. I am exhausted and still sick, but here...again...finally. I get quite wrapped up in the business of "nature" and perhaps that makes no sense. I will explain. If there is something I feel I should be worrying about or helping do or control I will busy myself with its concerns even while I have nothing really to do. This, I have found, includes the things that are far from my control. I busy my mind or my energy on them even when there is nothing to be done. It is like the weather. There is nothing I can do to control the rainy season downpours in Grenada or the beautiful 60 degree weather we are currently enjoying in Grenada, but I would busy my mind with it and distract from what is waiting patiently for me to just sit and be.

Last night, my daughter put me square in my place. I have so preoccupied with our big decision for clinicals and the next destination for our med school adventure that I have been getting nowhere fast staring at internet sites and housing and such to a fault. Graciebug was waiting patiently in bed last night while I pitter pattered here and there and everywhere, getting tea for her cousin, doing a little nothing of this and a little nothing of that....all because of my nervous energy. I had promised a good long foot rub and cuddle with my #1. When I finally arrived in the room once more and did not immediately curl up but found something else to mess with, she made her judgement. Sitting straight up with her hands properly and evenly placed on her hips she declared, "Mommy! It is ALL about me! It is me in schedule. Me time, Mommy! Me!" Okay. I was jolted as she continued to present her case citing my promises I had made to her about a good cuddle and that she needed me and on and on....I put down whatever it was I thought so important (I can't even recall) and got my little self right where I should have been in the first place and quieted my mind and cuddling my little bug.

Every early spring, I eagerly anticipated my traditional outing with my mom. Although, as a little girl I was never far from my mom's sight and spent many a day doing laundry at the laundromat or grabbing groceries at the market or stopping by the bakery, there was a particular event with my mom that I looked forward to more than any all year. It was the start to my favorite season- spring. And so, to usher in the new season into our little home, I would go with my mom to pick my absolute favorite flower in the whole wide of the universe...the daffodil. I love colors and pretty things and beautiful smells. To the average person, a daffodil may not embody all those things but to me, it did. Each year, it was a special time when I would get to be a big girl with my mom and we would pick this beautiful flower that to me represented happiness, beauty, and the beginning of something wonderful. Much of what I love about my favorite flower (and I am quite passionate about daffodils) I love about my mom. As children, we were always amazed at our mom's creativity, storytelling and childlike laughter. Her imagination and fun spirit encouraged us to explore our own adventures in our mind's eye. So, I loved my outings with my mom because I loved these beautiful flowers that were so different and whimsical and so much like my own mom. My other favorite outing with mom was our weekly ice cream cones. Ice cream has always been my greatest tasty treat and the walks to get a delicious ice cream cone that was all my own were always a treat, but like most other memories it wasn't so much the treat itself but the experience. And for me, it was another outing with mom that made it so special. Mom created adventures and experiences in our daily routines that made us feel important and loved. Whether it was board games, a day all curled up on her bed while she read to us all day from a chapter book while the world outside went on its merry way, listening to records together and singing along...Mom took the time to be present...to be with us in such fun imaginative ways. That is so much of who she was as a mom and who she is as a whole person...imaginative, creative, artistic, loving, humorous and kindhearted, giving and adventurous. Today, I have my own little one who loves her Gramsy for all the same wonderful things I see in her. I am so thankful that she knows my mom for the beautiful person she is. And in the spring each year, I am not always with my mom, but I am in a sense, as Graceanna and I go pick the first daffodils of spring and as our adventure nears its end and we arrive back home I see in my daughter's eyes that same spark of excitement that another little girl had when coming home from a special day with her mom.

Mom, today, you are 60 years young and I don't want to miss this chance to honor not just your birthday but who you are and who you are to me. I love you for all the stories, laughter, painting, songs, dances, records, icecream cones and daffodils, but most of all, I love you for who you are... a beautiful lady...inside and out.

I love you and a very happy birthday!

Ice Cream Cones & Daffodils,
Marca