Holiday Season 2015

Winter (or seasonal temps and snow) finally made its arrival shortly after Christmas, and with it came the holiday spirit.  We were fortunate to spend over a week back home which involved the usual holiday gatherings with family.  The kids had an opportunity to catch up with friends from their old school, and I got an opportunity to catch up with 'mom' friends and old friends alike.  

Alex is approaching the age where it's harder and harder to believe in Santa, whether it's feedback from peers or someone outright telling him that Grandma just pays Santa to come to her house. Regardless of whether he believes or not, he's the type of kid that will pretend to believe for fear that no gifts might actually come and to simply keep the magic alive for his sisters.  This Christmas was one of the simplest and best we've had in quite some time.  I didn't fret over getting Christmas cards out because I just didn't do them this year.  I stuck very close to the budget on those gift exchanges we were obligated to, and aside from a few toys/games, we got the kids necessities such as clothes, shoes, etc. that they could use.  It felt good for once to get through the holiday season and feel like it was practical and meaningful rather than feeling obliged and excessive.

Some of our highlights home for the week were starting each morning out with a fresh pot of coffee at my parents, and not having to be anywhere at any specific time.  Ainslee enjoyed playing with her art, crafts, and legos every morning, and Laura and I usually worked on one of her spa chemistry activities.  Alex and grandpa did their usual putzing, and even Laura got in on a few coffee clutch trips to the neighbor's with Grandpa.  We went to the rollerskating rink one day to test out Ainslee's new rollerblades, lunch and hot tubbing, lots of dinners in with family, enjoyed a fish fry and wrapped up the week singing happy birthday in celebration of my mom's 71st birthday.  

While I was home over break my sisters, mom and I went to the movie Sisters with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, it was a good, clean, funny movie that had a touching plot.  The two girls parent's were in the process of selling their childhood home, so the girls were asked to go to the home one last time and clean their stuff out of the bedroom before it was sold.  The girls struggled with all the memories the home held for them, so they decided to have one last party at the house.  It was a story line I could definitely relate to:  home isn't a place, home is a feeling.  When I look back at photos from this time last year, I am amazed at the amount of change that has taken place in our lives in such a short amount of time.  Not only have our lives physically and emotionally changed, but so have our own thought processes and ability to cope with change itself.  When we first embarked on this journey not only was the actual moving and adjusting process overwelming, but the emotional 'letting go' of our home in Eldorado has probably been one of the hardest realities we have faced.  The home has never been just a house to us, we spent 10 months pouring our lives into this home physically, emotionally, and financially.  Not only did it hold intrinsique value for me since I spent a large part of my childhood there, but equal significance to Jason because he was the labor and emotion behind the transformation of this house from my grandparents to ours.  We walked that tight balance between retaining the character of an old farmhouse, making it as efficient as possible, yet making it our own. To simply put it up for sale was very difficult for all of us.  I don't think I'll ever truly embrace the idea of just letting our house go; however, as time goes on, and our trips back to Eldorado and that house involve cleaning, mouse erradication, coordinating house showings with a realtor, relying on others to keep the yard, pool, and driveways maintained I think it's God's way of helping me let go of it just a little at a time.  I'm not saying it won't hurt when we do sell it; however, there is solace in knowing that nobody will love that house like we did and relief that the house we so loved is no longer a burden to us and others.  These past few months have shown me that it really is just a house, home is that warm fuzzy feeling we get when we are surrounded by those who have supported and loved us through this transformation.  

And as wonderful as the week visiting was, we were all ready to get back to a sense of normalcy and routine.  We returned to snow filled hills at home in Mindoro, the kids and Jason literally spent two days outside taking advantage of the amazing sledding hills we have right in our yard.  By the time the new year rolled around, we were all ready to head back to school.  Welcome 2016!