We have a STICK!

We are a little excited.  We have a stick. 

There's a stick in the ground with a cute little pink (!!!) flag on it.  That is where the front corner of the house will be. 

We might even have a hole sometime soon, and then a foundation.  Visible progress will be nice!

I'm trying to be excited for the new house.  It's going to LOOK huge, because instead of being bigger front to back (like the old house, which was one square behind the other), it will be bigger side to side.  That will be nice, we will have more East windows and fewer cold North windows.

I am looking forward to getting it built.  But the amount of work ahead of us is still daunting.  We've been working on the lists of things to replace, but that's very theoretical....  and also discouraging.  Some things, I google and find a typical replacement price.  Some things, just make me stop writing the list, and walk away.  Come back to it later.

And now I need to make sure the kids have what they need to go off to college next week.  And the seasons are changing, so the shorts, tank tops, sundresses, and sandals are not enough for clothing any more... 

It's going to be another busy week!

Are we excited?

We had an interesting dinner discussion last night.  Bob, Teresa, Phillip, and I were all there, and the question was asked, "are we excited about getting our new house delivered in October?"

We are happy about it, yes.  But excited is kind of hard.  We're not really excited - if we got out OLD house back, that would be exciting.  But that can't happen.  We plan to be happy in the new house -but it will take time for it to become home.

I'm excited to be back in Winthrop, and have my old backyard back.  I haven't gone outside looking for meteors here, I just cant set my alarm and go out and do it - it's just not the same.  It's the same sky, but it's lighter, and less open space.  It's a place I'm happy, but it's not my happy place.

Each of the "firsts" in the new house will even be bittersweet.  There will be grieving at each happy occasion, just as there is after losing a family member.  Our first Christmas in the new house will be the first without "the old house". I know it's not a person, it's just a house.  But think how you feel when you drop and break your favorite Christmas ornament.  And now it's ALL of your favorite Christmas ornaments.  We will get new ornaments - but you can't buy a box of memories at Christmas Tree Shops.  There will be new items that remind us of old memories, and we will make new memories - but all of it will take time.

That was quite a family conversation.  But wait there's more!  :)

I had a good conversation with the Girl today, about gifts.  She expresses things so well, that I'm going to try to recreate some of the thoughts....   She's concerned about receiving gifts, and people trying to replace things.  In some ways, that would make her feel like it was about "THE FIRE" and replacing what we had. She wants to feel that gifts, especially birthday and Christmas gifts, are about now, and about the future.  She has put some things on her amazon wish list, including a lot of items for her newest hobby, D+D!

The fire is in the past - and we will be rebuilding some of that past, with a lot of help from friends and family.  There are people holding items that will go into the new house, to restore some of the feeling of family.  But the new items will be focused on the new life we're building.

I've blogged before about "renewal" (https://linda04364.blogspot.com/2012/04/fresh-start.html) - this is definitely a fresh start.  I hope to keep us facing forward, renewing our spirits, as we continue in this journey. Each day we remember more things that we've lost.  We will grieve each one, but then we choose to replace, rebuild, or simply remember that thing.

For people wanting to help, please remember that our past is important - but our future is even more important than our past.

The Show Must Go On!

July 22.  I went to a play yesterday.  It was awesome.

It also made me think about the phrase, "the show must go on" ...  I really feel like that's what we're doing.

And -- that's where I left off on this thought.  I'm posting it anyway, and moving on to the next one!  Sometimes things just don't get finished.