It's been seven days now since we've arrived at the new house. The kids and I left SW Kansas on Saturday morning and by the time we arrived the moving van was gone. And it was time to unpack. It was a bit hairy and stressful for a bit but practically everything is in it's place except for all my photos and paintings. The garage is a bit of a mess too but that's not my department.
The last few weeks have left me feeling anxious and nervous but those feelings have quickly subsided. DR and I have meshed together fairly well this week after six months of living apart. I sure am sleeping better now that my bed isn't empty!
The biggest adjustment we've probably all had to make is the change in climate. Of the seven days we've been here it's rained every day but one. Everything is so very green and there are flowers everywhere....it's a bit of an assault on the senses after 5 years in SW Kansas. Even the wet smells of grass and earth seem almost intoxicating.
It's been so wet in fact that we had to go buy rain boots for the kids so they had something to play in the woods with. (More on that later.) In SW Kansas I never even had to buy them winter boots. A SW Kansas winter is a dry winter. You always hear about the dry heat but a dry winter is different too. It may get cold in SW Kansas but it's the humidity in winter that will drive that cold to your bones like here in the east. I've felt like I've gone through three seasons in one day just because the way humidity effects my body. I didn't think I'd ever have to get used to humidity again!!
Across the street from our house is a lake that the kids have thoroughly enjoyed playing in. Wading and skipping rocks and tromping through mud. I haven't done this much laundry in ages. Yip, Yap and Yahoo are constantly stripping off wet clothes. I won't complain though because they are outside!!
This little lake is a gem where you can fish and has a 1 1/3 mile walking path around the lake. On Mother's Day evening we all went for a walk here and ended up getting thoroughly soaked by the rain. The boys, who were almost 6 years old when we moved away from Illinois, were happy as clams that they were in the rain. Yahoo however was not impressed. She was only 1 1/2 years old when we moved to SW Kansas so she know nothing but a climate of severe drought. She HATED walking in the rain. It was almost comical how much she complained!!
Besides the house I think we have made a good start into settling into the community. We signed up for the summer reading program at the town library. Yip and Yahoo are in baseball this summer and Yap is signed up for golf camp. I'm trying to spread the word about The Roving Brush and hoping to get a couple painting parties scheduled for summer time. We've met a few of the neighbors and have become a familiar face already at the local Orscheln Farm Store.
I'm excited for the summer. I think it will be a good one but I am a little bit homesick for SW Kansas.
I miss you Sue, Connie, Angie, Cassandra. Montezuma will always hold a special place in my heart!
