Ode to Fluff Novels
A celebration of reading fluff novels as a survival technique (especially when the moving boxes are lurking just around the corner and threatening to jump you if you acknowledge their existence).
The Grace of Neighborliness
When the gift of neighborliness leads to a celebration of grace.
Cocooned and Quieted
The closer we get to the move, the more my brain threatens to check out, but this time, there is a hammock.
Stress Response
We will pause here a moment in our usually scheduled program to talk about some of the ways that we respond to stress. Why? Because—at long last—I’ve succumbed to the realization that the stress factor is in place at this point, whether I want it or not (and whether I feel like it or not)…but also because some of our stress responses are just plain funny…and probably revealing of who we are in deep and unfortunate ways.
The Way the Light Bends
The darkness is always near, but God reaches out to show us himself in these seasons, not in a blinding flood of revelation (not yet!), but in streaks of goodness that seem to bend to touch our hearts, if we can look into the darkness so that we don’t miss them.
Full, not Busy
But when I slow down long enough to think about it, I realize—all the things I’m doing during a day are good things, things I enjoy, things I have welcomed into my day for a reason. So is this really busyness—frenetic activity for activity’s sake—or is it fullness, a rich life of purpose and joy?
No Time Like the Present
I sit down for my early morning read/pray/write. The dog immediately wants out. Then the coffee needs turning down. Then I see the power cord the kids left out and have to put it away.
Novel Means New
I did a thing this last year.
Well, really, this last year and a half. I wrote a novel, a big fat novel…
Kicking Off the School Year
Ah, August, that wonderful time of year when we force ourselves to stop being lazy bums and instead embrace, once again, the idea that our brains can actually function. In other words, the kids and I have started school.
Timeline
Every time we move, there are new ropes to learn, but it's almost always the same timeline (at least for me). I find that in general, for about two weeks prior to the move and then two weeks following the move, I'm possessed with an almost manic energy. Sleep is hard to come by because my mind won't turn off; food is optional; coffee is sometimes even forgotten as I plow through my To Do list (and sometimes try to take on everyone else's) like a juggernaut.
Togetherness
Some of you may be wondering how our transition into a house from the RV might be going. We've been asked few times if we're losing each other now that we're not stacked like sardines into a 35 foot trailer or if we're so used to all that togetherness that we're following each other from room to room as we go throughout the day. The answer is: yes.
Moving Blurbs
It was our last official day in the RV when I started this blog post (so if you were waiting until the last moment to buy this thing, you're now going to have to purchase from a different state), and I was sitting with a cat in my lap watching the dawn light stretch the tree shadows long and slim while using my cell phone hotspot to access blogger because our internet decided our last week in the RV was the most appropriate time to crap out on us. Really, it wasn't wrong.
We Like to Move It
It's that time of year: the time when my favorite neighbors have already packed up and moved out and I proceed to start freaking out about our own move. The time when the Man goes into planning hyperdrive, and I start purging everything in sight.