Finding a New Normal

The past several months have yielded a lot of changes around here.  At the beginning of the summer, I packed my family up and we moved three states away. My husband and I had talked about someday moving back home to be closer to my extended family, almost since the day we were married. We always figured we’d stay in Maine long enough to see our precious little church grow, thrive and be able to survive without us.

After struggling to take off for several years, our lovely little church in Maine finally closed its doors early this past spring. We were sad to see it happen, but not surprised when it finally did. We lost a very large part of our lives that day.

We’d seen the closing coming down the pipeline for several months and had been talking more openly about the possibility of moving in the near future. We wanted to prepare our son, who at 15 had already lived in more homes, and been the new kid at school more times than he’d changed grades. We struggled with putting him through this change again, since we had just moved him to a new school the year before, but it wasn’t going well. We didn’t care at all for the education he was receiving, and were not prepared to continue fighting that hard until he graduated high school.

So, when the church closed in early March, we let him know for certain that we would be moving away this summer, probably right after school got out. To put it bluntly, he did not take the news well. The next several months were some of the toughest we’d faced together. But, through the grace of God, we made it to the end of June, when we said some tearful goodbyes, packed the truck and headed to our new home.

When we arrived, neither of us had jobs. It was kind of fun, none of us had to race off to work or school and we could laze around in our pajamas and occasionally unpack a box or two. We’d go to friends’ houses for supper, spend time with my parents and grandparents and watch entirely too much Phineas and Ferb.  It was a nice, easy summer.

By the end of the summer, my husband had found a job, and our son was going back to school (high school, eek!). I was still looking for employment, although half-heartedly. For many years, I’ve harbored a not-so-secret fantasy of being a stay-at-home-mom. I’ve wanted to be able to cook all my family’s meals from scratch, hang laundry outside on the line and can things like jellies and jams. Since I’ve been home all the time, I’ve been able to do all that, plus many more little things. I’ve been able to reorganize closets when they drive me crazy and I’ve been able to make some of my own cleaning supplies again. I’ve been able to make lunches for my husband and call my son’s school when something comes up. I love this gig.

Still, it’s an adjustment. I still need to find a job, and I’ve gone back to school for nursing. When I announced my plans to go back to school, my dear friend told me it was about time. She always saw me as a nurse when we grew up. I refuse to believe that I’m growing up.

So, here I sit, still in my pajamas at nearly nine thirty in the morning. My son and my husband are both off to school, and I was awake to see them off. So far, I like this new normal…