The Year in Review

As years go, 2011 was a doozy.

We found out at the end of 2010 that we would be Hoosiers in the year to come. We also knew that Mark would be a Hoosier well before the rest of us, and the separation was a real bummer. So bummerish in fact that we swore if we ever had to do that again, we would never do that again. We would do something, but we would never do that. Cap off a long, painful separation with a horrific real estate experience and we had the worst first quarter of the year of all time. But let's focus on the positive.

The boys finished out the school year in Tennessee, quite successfully I might add. Ben ran track, and Daniel took up wrestling. I love watching them try new things and succeed at new things. They amaze me daily. They also put the pedal to the metal and finished up their ranks in their scout troop in Tennessee - not an easy thing to do for either boy. But Daniel made Second Class and Ben made Life a week before the move - we were extremely proud of them both.

Then the school year was over and the very next day, we were Hoosiers. Mark had been in Indiana full-time since March, and he was ready to relinquish his swinging bachelor pad to have us all under one roof. The move was a smooth one - nothing was broken or lost that we can tell. Roy's Moving Service is the bomb, in case you were curious - I strongly recommend them to any East Tennesseans looking to move.

So the boys began summer vacay in a new neighborhood. They went to scout camp with the old troop in June, but after that, we were here to stay. Mark went back to JC a time or two for work, but that was it. We had very nice visits in our new home with my parents in July, and with Mark's mom, niece, and sis-in-law over Labor Day.

We also acquired a permanent house guest named Ramp. He moved from the local shelter straight to our back porch and took over immediately. He is part Jack Russell and part Australian Cattle dog. We call him a Cattle Jack. He loves to catch tennis balls and frisbees and has a vertical lift that rivals any NBA player. The boys love him and he kept them occupied for most of the summer.

We didn't officially take a vacation this summer, but we did explore Louisville several times, and we drove as far as Cincinnati to see the Yankees beat the Reds in an awesome game watched from awesome seats. We are still figuring out what places can be easily visited from our new home (St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis).

The fall brought two new schools. I can now say that my kids have had to do something I never had to - they both walked into a brand new school, not knowing a soul. And they both survived. Both boys ran cross country this fall, and made friends on the team quickly. Daniel is now wrestling on the middle school team, and Ben is enjoying some time off from sports. They both got settled in academically and we are very proud of their accomplishments - moreso because of the added stress of everything being new.

And finally, we found a new scout troop. The boys have attended a camp out and a merit badge fair and really settled in with the new troop. I love how this troop is different, but very much the same as what we are used to - there is only one Scout Law and one Scout Oath after all. Ben is focusing on his Eagle rank, which is exciting, and Daniel is finishing up the Pets merit badge as well as requirements for First Class.

For Mark and myself, the move was less intrusive. We both still work for the same company, just in different roles. There have been some bumps along the way, but the culture here is very positive and we are excited about the possibilities. I have also stayed focused on my favorite part of the move: my dream kitchen. I can't believe I ever survived in a smaller kitchen - the cabinet space alone was worth becoming a Hoosier.

We have been visiting a church we really enjoy - Northside Christian - very much different from what we are used to. Membership is in the area of 5000 people, and the weekly budget is the same as our yearly budget from our church in Tennessee. The worship services (there are four to choose from) are exciting and different , and we look forward to worship in a way we haven't in a long time. The downside is not knowing anyone - we need to join a small group to get connected and we just haven't taken the plunge yet. We will have to decided in the coming weeks if we want to stay and get connected, or keep looking.

Wrapping up the year, we had two very different but very nice holidays. Thanksgiving was spent mostly on the road - we drove to Tennessee and spent Thanksgiving Day with Mark's family. We also ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning and got to see lots of familiar faces. On Friday, we drove to South Carolina and spent time with my family, before driving back to Knoxville to spend the night. Up early on Saturday, we drove back to Indiana. It was wonderful to see everyone, but we were exhausted from the driving.

We spent Christmas in our new home. It was a really nice change: we didn't have anything to do or anywhere to go or anyone to see. And it was wonderful. We attended a lovely service at Northside, had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner, watched football, opened gifts, and generally enjoyed the peace and quiet. I hated not seeing extended family, but I loved have a relaxing time with just the four of us.

We are spending the final days of 2011 at home. Mark and I are on vacation until the 3rd and the boys are out of school until the 4th. Decorations are put away, the house is clean, we have tons of new Christmas gadgets to play with: we are truly living the dream.

I pray that 2012 is much more boring than 2011, but I also pray for continued health, prosperity, and laughter. As crazy as our year was, we still had all of those things, and we had each other. It doesn't get much better than that.

Here's wishing a happy and healthy new year to you as well!

Before and After

There was a lot of storm damage in this area after those crazy storms passed through. Many lost their homes and virtually everything they own. I know that in the grand scheme of what was lost, this is fairly minor. But these pictures upset me more than almost anything else I've seen. The Creeper Trail is one of my favorite places in the world, and one of the things I will miss most after the move.

Before:
After:

My Periodontist Dumped Me Today. Seriously.

It started innocently enough. I went in today for my third post-extraction follow-up. See, right after Christmas I was feeling pretty down about a very painful root canal and crown situation. My endodontist and my regular dentist got together and decided that an older crown was also decaying underneath, and nothing would do but for me to go see this friend of theirs, this great periodontist.

So I went. And he told me grand stories about dental implants and easy extractions. He had me at "Rinse". It was going so well. And then....today.

He says "How's the pain?"

"Better. Still hurts, but better."

"Looks like it's healing OK. You might have pain for two more weeks or so, but I think it will be OK. When are you moving?"

"June. Memorial Day weekend probably."

"Hmmm. Well, I think we just need to give this thing time to heal before we move on to the next phase. I don't think you'll be ready before your move, so I don't think we need to have any more follow-ups. Just find a dentist after you get settled in Indiana and he can pick it up from here."

I takes me a moment to wrap my head around what he is saying. "Wait.....are you dumping me?"

"I don't think it's fair to say I'm dumping you, I just don't think it makes sense to...."

"You are! You're dumping me!" I couldn't believe it. "What about the consult we had, where you promised you could have this all done before I moved? What about the two-hour extraction we went through together, on Valentine's Day no less? What about the THOUSAND DOLLARS I paid you, you son of a ......"

"There's no need to get upset. We'll cut you a check for the difference. And you knew this relationship wasn't permanent. You have a regular dentist you know."

"It was more permanent than this! You were supposed to see me through! You were supposed to do it all! The extraction, the new tooth, all of it!"

"There are perfectly good periodontists in Indiana. In fact, I know one. I just don't know what part of Indiana. I can try to look him up if...."

"I don't need you to find a periodontist for me. I can find my own periodontist, thank you very much."

"OK then. Take your chart to the front desk and they will sort it all out."

I make the slow walk of shame to the front. The receptionist takes my chart and says loudly, "Let's see, we will see you back in.....oh.....it says here no more follow-ups?"

"Nope. No more follow-ups. He's ending it. And thanks for sharing my humiliation with all the other patients here in the waiting room. The patients he still wants to see." (My voice faltered a little on this last part.)

"Well, I guess we need to write you a check for what we owe you. If you can wait, I can get him to write one now, or we can just mail it to you."

I couldn't hold the hurt in any longer. "MAIL IT!" I cry as I run from the building, knocking over a display of gingivitis informational flyers on my way out.

I came home and chewed gum with real sugar for a few hours and didn't brush at bed time.

What a way to start the weekend.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

(Yes, this post is a few days late. Welcome to my world.)

My baby boy is 12. 12!! Since Mark was out of town on the big day (March 2), we postponed the celebration until the Saturday after, which, sadly, was a make-up snow day and the boys had school. So there was some celebratory spillage into Sunday as well. It was a great big birthday bash weekend! We had some of his favorite meals (including Sunday brunch at Waffle House), a cookie cake (shown above and featuring my personal best decorative efforts) and a variety of gifts reflective of DP's many hobbies and interests. The scheduled bike ride was snowed out (yes, I said SNOWED out) but we spent a very cozy Sunday afternoon vegging out and playing video games. Good times.

Happy Birthday to my amazing 12-year old! I love you!

That Yogi Berra was a Genius

It ain't over, till it's over. And it's finally over. That's the only positive thing I can say.

The sale on our house fell through. I won't bore you with the details, but if you are trying to sell your house, I can say with absolute certainty that there are worse things than not having anyone interested. You could have the wrong people interested. I would absolutely positively have preferred to have no one even look at the house for two months than go through what we went through these last two weeks. Awful. Bleh.

But we moved on. My mom always told me that the best thing to do when you are overwhelmed is just to do something. Anything. But get busy with something. So Mark and I got busy over the weekend working out our budget. After some very creative thinking, we came to the conclusion that although it will be tight, we can still make the down payment on the house in Indiana, and we can afford two house payments. Won't be fun for a while, but it will be OK.

Friends are saying "you'll find another buyer." Problem is, I am in no hurry to get the house back on the market. I'm like a girl that just got out of a terrible relationship and has sworn off men for a while. We may just look into renting it out, which was going to be a last resort if it didn't sell, and now seems like a decent proposition. Who knows.

This I do know: God is still bigger than I am. God is still bigger than my wildest imagination. And even though I'm more than a little buffaloed by this most recent turn of events, I am still counting my blessings, and I still believe deep down that it is all happening for a reason. That's why we call it faith, isn't it?

If These Walls Could Talk

I know from the bizarre experience of some friends that in any home sale, it ain’t over till it’s over (they had four – count ‘em FOUR deals fall through). So I’m still not 100% convinced that this is a go. But it looks like it’s a go. Every day that passes, we get closer to a go. We are now 2 weeks from a go.

Yes, dear readers, we sold our house.

I know, I know. In this market? Apparently, yes. The realtor came out on Tuesday, January 4. The web listing went up on Thursday. She showed the house on Friday night, and we got an offer on Saturday. Negotiating started and was long and at times, painful, but we sealed the post-inspection deal last Monday. A few things still concern me, like the fact that the SOLD sign won’t stay on, and the guy coming out to do the termite/septic inspection had a heart attack on the way over, but I’m really trying not to see these incidents as foreshadowing of any kind. I’m finally letting myself believe that this is a go.

And before I move on in my post, let me say to all of you….which is pretty much everyone on the planet….all of you who gave us that look when said we were moving. Who got that really sad look in their eye and said “So….what about your house? What are you going to do about that?” All those to whom we replied, cheerfully, “Sell it!” To all those who said “You know…the market isn’t good right now.” All those to whom I wanted to say “Really? Really? It’s a bad market? Where are you getting this intel? Because this is the first I’VE heard of this slow market. NO ONE has mentioned this before.” To all of you naysayers, all I can say is……God is bigger than the real estate market. When God says go, you’re going. It’ll work out. If Jonah had to sell a house before going to Ninevah, it would have sold.

Now back to my post….

Selling a house is a strange thing. Very much like having siblings. We complained and moaned about things for years…..the kitchen is too small, the deck needs an overhauling, etc., etc. But let someone else come in and mention shortcomings in your house…..some STRANGERs….and brother, it is ON. I am so ready for a new house, but I was very surprised by my emotional reaction to criticism of the old one.

Houses are quirky, just like the people who live in them. The door to our bathroom doesn’t shut all the way. I actually laughed when I explained to the realtor how to get into the attic (it involves a chair, a hammer, and preferably protective goggles.) These aren’t problems for us anymore – it’s just the way the house is. It’s part of its personality.

We broke ground on the house while Mark and I were on our honeymoon. We spent hours staining and sealing all of the wood trim and doors by hand. I vividly remember Mark’s dad giving me handfuls of insulation and showing me how to stuff it around all the windows. It seems like yesterday that we picked out paint and furniture for two different nurseries for two very different little boys. Those little boys are not so very little any more, but I look up the staircase and see their little sleepy-eyed, footed-PJ selves sitting on the top step waiting to see what Santa brought. I can’t look at the fireplace without remembering the sound of Daniel’s head cracking wide open against it. Or look at the living room window without picturing a golf ball flying through it.

I’ve learned that a house isn’t just a house. It is an extension of the family that lives there. It’s a treasure trove of memories – good and bad – that make up the patchwork of our lives. It’s a member of the family.

I don’t know how many of you read Anita Shreve – some of her books are better than others, but for the most part, she’s a keeper. She has one very unique aspect to several of her books: they are all set in the same house. Different characters, different storylines, different times in history. But the same house.

The story of our house will continue without us in it. I hope that the new owners have as many chapters as we did, if not more. I hope that their story is happy and funny and adventurous. I hope that they come to love the quirks and the squeaks as much as we do.

Leaving for school the other morning, Daniel and I were standing in the kitchen. I had just turned out the lights, and he was looking around. There was very little light through the windows, but we could still see. Out of the blue he said “I’m going to miss this house.”

Me too, little man. Me too.