What I've Been Up To...

Been constantly busy... pulled in a multiplicity of directions. Photo sessions/weddings/editing/work... Kid play/crafts/everyday necessities... Holiday preparations-- costumes, food, etc. etc... Family visits... A little me-time with the sewing machine, naps, books...

It has been unbelievably WHIRLWIND. Wow. And today, I am SLOWING DOWN for just a moment while Noah naps so I can check in (with the world and with mySELF). Joe is in Wisconsin, of all places... Checking out the school that is his first choice for grad school next year. It's funny, because he is often gone at school or sleeping off his night shifts at this time of day, but having him OUT OF THE STATE feels lonelier, somehow. Still, I am so excited for him as this new future draws closer. So proud of the hard work he has put into his degree. But having him gone, having Noah napping, having a moment to stop and breathe a bit--- all combines to make me reflect... and puts me in the pensive mood to snap a few photos of the current things in my life so I can share a bit on the blog...

So what have I been up to recently?

How about Halloween stuff:
{candy eating, costume attempts, pumpkin patch visit, pumpkin crafts, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin chili, mini-shoot planning, party invitations, and on and on and on...}

How about EMBRACING OCTOBER with Noah?
{Leaf walks, leaf rubbings, fall songs, acorn collecting, walks in the park, leaf piles, fall stories, and on and on...}

How about crafting up a storm?
{sweaters for felting, muslin for linings, fabric prewashed, fabric cut, doodads bought and used, stacks of future ideas, tubs of pre-cut treasures}

How about a Family Outing to Eckerts?
{Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Beckie, Noah and myself with the pumpkins, apples, goats, kangaroo (?weird?), gourds, wagons, chilly air, bonfire smells}

How about PACKING to MOVE?
{Wait??? **** record scraaaaatch*****}

Did I not tell you we were moving? In less than 90 days? No?

Hm.

Let's revisit those earlier photos I just showed you, but in the context of our CRAZY CURRENT LIFE OF PACKING:

Halloween:
(boxes of books and art supplies)

Leaf Rubbings and Fall Fun:
(there's the scrapbooking cabinet, emptied and in tubs)

Crafting and Felted Sweaters:
(remember THIS photo wall? Gone.)

Eckerts Apples:
(this wall held the BIG photos, and the couch... not anymore.)

And so yeah.... Somehow we are managing to maximize our life and have good fun, even as we frantically rush to get this place emptied that we had become ROOTED in over five wonderful years. But in and among and around the everyday rituals of storytime, dinnertime, worktime, and so on, there is the ever-present weight of this deadline to be out. Out of here. Out of the dear little Mason Attic.

And why?

I'm still trying to understand myself. Something about power and ownership and believing that even though formal agreements and promises were made back in the spring, the ones with the power get to make the rules. Somehow, the little family living in the top floor, the family who relied on the promise of having the 2009-10 school year here in this attic, wasn't significant enough of a worry to change the Powerful Ones' ideas about liability and construction, etc. etc.

Cryptic? a little. Let me elaborate a tiny bit: Remember the bat? Seems rather than pay the full price for a simple, clean extermination, the Powerful Ones would rather eliminate the liability of having us here and do it the cheap way. In addition, they have lofty plans for other construction projects, and we suddenly became a nuisance. And okay, I understand rabies is not a matter to be fooled with. But to be given 30 days' notice, abruptly, coldly, and unbendingly... I won't lie. It HURT. It was SCARY. How can anyone, much less a small, poor family of three in the middle of a critical semester secure quality housing AND pack AND move and figure it all out in THIRTY DAYS? Don't we, as five-year veteran caretakers of this establishment, deserve more courtesy than that?

But.... Well. It is what it is.

And after forcing the Powerful Ones to see that their move was not exactly LEGAL in terms of Tenants' Rights, we managed to get a little more time out of them. We get until January 5, now.

So.

We are packing.

All. The. Time.

And ya know what?

It is going to be okay. At no time during this crisis have I felt I was being punished by God... Never felt abandoned by the good spirits of the universe. In fact, I have witnessed incredible sacrifice FOR us in the midst of all of this.. and I have felt closer to the Lord as I have had to call on Him more.

And we are okay. Blessed, in fact. We have a new home to go to because of an incredible friend's gesture of help. We have many many many hands helping pack, wrap, lift, carry, and move things. We have prayers being sent our way from all over the world. And in the grand scheme of things, this is but a small burden. We will come out of this insanity with more than we started with.

So.

There ya have it. What I have been up to. What the rest of my holiday season will look like: Boxes. Bags. Goodwill. Trash. And a small but meaningful season of joy and love and holiday spirit.

Life is good. It really is.

(Sending my love to all who worried... thanks for checking in with me as I have alluded to this over the past month.)