Day Twelve: Mind Games and Missing
Every place we go, every season of life that we are in, there are good things and bad. Everyone knows this. And everyone knows that sometimes it's the littlest things that make the biggest difference.
The first thing I said to the Man when we got to our new house was, "Oh, the windows are so beautiful!" He kind of looked at me funny, but he should've known that the windows in our last house were the bane of my existence with their spiderwebbed panes that were impossible to clean. I thank God almost every day for the beautiful, large, single-paned windows we have here. Sure they're covered in pint-sized hand prints (with the occasional smear from a wet dog nose), but they are spider web free!
Then there was the shower head that, miraculously, did not shriek and squeal the entire time you were bathing. That was nice too.
And the rabbits? Yes, I'm not missing the Oklahoma rabbits. It's nice to walk the dog without risking the dislocation of my left arm every time he sees one of those tiny dinner plates on legs.
But you know what I am missing? (Other than all my wonderful friends, of course.) Hearing "Taps" play at night. And "Reveille" in the morning. I didn't realize what special parts of my day they had become.
I miss the turtles at the creek, and our daily walks to throw rocks in the water.
I miss the way the wind chimes were constantly singing, although I admit that I don't miss the constant wind.
You see, with every transition, we find a new set of things that are both good and bad. This is true not only when it comes to moves but as it applies to other areas of change in our life. I loved the flutter kicks of my babies growing in my belly but don't miss the cramps or heart burn. I love the snuggles of newborns and their tiny, grabby fingers but I don't miss the round the clock nursings or the blow out poops.
This even works for deployments! Of course, we miss the Man while he's gone, but the kids and I come up with fun things to do to make the time go more quickly and try to keep those months special regardless. So much so, in fact, that one time when the Man's deployment got cancelled midway through training, I actually felt a little bit of sadness over the loss of the plans we had made for the upcoming months! And that felt incredibly weird because of course we were overwhelmingly glad to have him home!
Sometimes, I think it's all just mind games.
And maybe it is.
But in order to survive the curveballs life throws at us, we really do need to make sure our minds are full engaged. They are powerful tools we can use to welcome joy into our lives--if we choose to use our minds and eyes to look for the good and beautiful and joy-giving instead of focusing on the frustrating and ugly.
And then when we go through our next transition we can have so much fun reveling in quiet showers and clean windows and nursing-free nights or whatever else comes our way.
The first thing I said to the Man when we got to our new house was, "Oh, the windows are so beautiful!" He kind of looked at me funny, but he should've known that the windows in our last house were the bane of my existence with their spiderwebbed panes that were impossible to clean. I thank God almost every day for the beautiful, large, single-paned windows we have here. Sure they're covered in pint-sized hand prints (with the occasional smear from a wet dog nose), but they are spider web free!
Then there was the shower head that, miraculously, did not shriek and squeal the entire time you were bathing. That was nice too.
And the rabbits? Yes, I'm not missing the Oklahoma rabbits. It's nice to walk the dog without risking the dislocation of my left arm every time he sees one of those tiny dinner plates on legs.
 |
| I'm not going to miss all of Bruiser's drool, but the cuteness of his grin with teeth is worth it. |
But you know what I am missing? (Other than all my wonderful friends, of course.) Hearing "Taps" play at night. And "Reveille" in the morning. I didn't realize what special parts of my day they had become.
I miss the turtles at the creek, and our daily walks to throw rocks in the water.
 |
| Possibly my favourite picture of the boys, ever. Also, look how green Oklahoma was! |
You see, with every transition, we find a new set of things that are both good and bad. This is true not only when it comes to moves but as it applies to other areas of change in our life. I loved the flutter kicks of my babies growing in my belly but don't miss the cramps or heart burn. I love the snuggles of newborns and their tiny, grabby fingers but I don't miss the round the clock nursings or the blow out poops.
This even works for deployments! Of course, we miss the Man while he's gone, but the kids and I come up with fun things to do to make the time go more quickly and try to keep those months special regardless. So much so, in fact, that one time when the Man's deployment got cancelled midway through training, I actually felt a little bit of sadness over the loss of the plans we had made for the upcoming months! And that felt incredibly weird because of course we were overwhelmingly glad to have him home!
 |
| My parents are visiting right now. Joy upon joy. And look how tall Tiny is next to his little Neni! |
Sometimes, I think it's all just mind games.
And maybe it is.
But in order to survive the curveballs life throws at us, we really do need to make sure our minds are full engaged. They are powerful tools we can use to welcome joy into our lives--if we choose to use our minds and eyes to look for the good and beautiful and joy-giving instead of focusing on the frustrating and ugly.
And then when we go through our next transition we can have so much fun reveling in quiet showers and clean windows and nursing-free nights or whatever else comes our way.
 |
| Binge read "In the Between" |
