Making a New "Home"
Well, it's officially summer now—we made it to our first parade of the summer!
Watching the parade and seeing all of the people there made me miss my family and my own small town. The small town I call "home" is about 2,000 people larger than this one and I was blessed to grow up with most of my family and friends nearby. It is so easy to take that closeness for granted until it's gone!
"Home" is cozy and knowing everyone is comfortable. I miss that.
Being the new person, the outsider, means meeting new people often (which is fun), trying to remember a list of new names (which is hard!), who's related to who and lots of small talk to build new relationships. I know it's been good for me, for all of us, but starting over again and again is frustrating. I even can't imagine how career military families feel!!!
As the years pass and more memories are made, I know this new town will become home.
That is, if we stay here. The Lord has blessed us with so many new friendships in the past 2.5 years. To our kids, this is all they know. For my husband and I, feeling like we "belong" here will be a process. Now if only all of our families would move here too... ;)
My prayer is that we will be hospitable and mission-minded for the outsiders in this community even years from now. Becoming too comfortable and inwardly-focused is dangerous because it can lead to stagnation.
She Reads Truth has an amazing devotional series on biblical hospitality and it defined so well the hospitality Jesus lived out when He invited us into fellowship with Him. Jesus is the great Inviter and now it is our job to reach out to others with His love.
So that's where we are now: making memories, building relationships and reaching out to others.
On Saturday, we went on a mother+sons date to a local parade and enjoyed Superman ice cream (it was like a sherbet mixed with vanilla) and I had an iced latte. E ate most of the ice cream because W doesn't appreciate ice cream quite yet.
We waited and watched for a while after finishing our treats. Then the parade came through and we collected way more candy than necessary!
I love watching these boys grow up and being together as a family in our "new home"!
Every day is a new memory-making opportunity and I wouldn't trade these moments for the world.
Strength: 6 x 1:00 planks
Strength: 3 sets of 15 reps w/ 10 lb dumbbells - thrusters, bicep curls, rows, tricep kickbacks, lateral raises, running arms, 10 reps of lunges.
Strength: 20 reps of side leg raises, bridges, side hip raises, lunges.
Strength: 6 x 1:00 planks.
Did some medium-effort speed work this morning to shake things up a bit with one more week until training starts for the Wild Hog.
I ran across some people stranded and out of gas on my usual gravel route this morning... eventually we got them to the gas station and moving again. The country roads are pretty quiet in the morning so I was surprised to see them.
4 x 400m with 400m jog between sets @ 7:14, 7:24, 7:32, 7:33.
Strength: 6 x 1:00 planks.
Training for the next marathon starts in a couple weeks so I'm switching over to run long on Sunday mornings. During the farming busy season, this works much better because my husband usually works Saturdays when the weather is decent. The schedule just needs to stay flexible because agriculture certainly isn't a regular 9-5 job!
Total Running Mileage: 19.15 miles
Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up and Faith's
Watching the parade and seeing all of the people there made me miss my family and my own small town. The small town I call "home" is about 2,000 people larger than this one and I was blessed to grow up with most of my family and friends nearby. It is so easy to take that closeness for granted until it's gone!
"Home" is cozy and knowing everyone is comfortable. I miss that.
Being the new person, the outsider, means meeting new people often (which is fun), trying to remember a list of new names (which is hard!), who's related to who and lots of small talk to build new relationships. I know it's been good for me, for all of us, but starting over again and again is frustrating. I even can't imagine how career military families feel!!!
As the years pass and more memories are made, I know this new town will become home.
That is, if we stay here. The Lord has blessed us with so many new friendships in the past 2.5 years. To our kids, this is all they know. For my husband and I, feeling like we "belong" here will be a process. Now if only all of our families would move here too... ;)
My prayer is that we will be hospitable and mission-minded for the outsiders in this community even years from now. Becoming too comfortable and inwardly-focused is dangerous because it can lead to stagnation.
She Reads Truth has an amazing devotional series on biblical hospitality and it defined so well the hospitality Jesus lived out when He invited us into fellowship with Him. Jesus is the great Inviter and now it is our job to reach out to others with His love.
As followers of Jesus, it is our privilege, our responsibility, our JOY to invite people to the Gospel." She Reads Truth.comI don't want to get so comfortable in our little life that my eyes turn inward rather than reaching out to others. As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” (Matthew 9:35-38)
So that's where we are now: making memories, building relationships and reaching out to others.
On Saturday, we went on a mother+sons date to a local parade and enjoyed Superman ice cream (it was like a sherbet mixed with vanilla) and I had an iced latte. E ate most of the ice cream because W doesn't appreciate ice cream quite yet.
We waited and watched for a while after finishing our treats. Then the parade came through and we collected way more candy than necessary!
I love watching these boys grow up and being together as a family in our "new home"!
Every day is a new memory-making opportunity and I wouldn't trade these moments for the world.
What's your story? Have you felt like an outsider?
What is your favorite parade candy?! - fruity tootsie rolls :)
What is your favorite parade candy?! - fruity tootsie rolls :)
.....
Monday, June 20
Easy-Effort: 5.01 mi, 00:46 @ 09:16 paceStrength: 6 x 1:00 planks
Tuesday, June 21
Walk: 3 miles to swimming lessons and teeny ball.Strength: 3 sets of 15 reps w/ 10 lb dumbbells - thrusters, bicep curls, rows, tricep kickbacks, lateral raises, running arms, 10 reps of lunges.
Wednesday, June 22
Intervals with double stroller: 4.55 mi, 00:38 @ 08:24 pace. Started as fartlek intervals of 1:00 on, 1:00 off... then I pushed a button and goofed up my watch, ending the workout. I ran the rest of the workout on the "cool-down" mode.Strength: 20 reps of side leg raises, bridges, side hip raises, lunges.
Thursday, June 23
Walking: 1.5 miles to swimming lessons.Strength: 6 x 1:00 planks.
Friday, June 24
Kinda Speedwork: 3.39 mi, 00:28 @ 08:15 pace.Did some medium-effort speed work this morning to shake things up a bit with one more week until training starts for the Wild Hog.
I ran across some people stranded and out of gas on my usual gravel route this morning... eventually we got them to the gas station and moving again. The country roads are pretty quiet in the morning so I was surprised to see them.
4 x 400m with 400m jog between sets @ 7:14, 7:24, 7:32, 7:33.
Saturday, June 25
The little ones and I went to our first parade of the year while daddy was at work. We collected wayyy too much candy and hopefully I won't eat all of the colorful tootsie rolls. The grape and strawberry ones are my favorite!Sunday, June 26
Long Run: 6.2 mi, 00:51 @ 08:17 pace.Strength: 6 x 1:00 planks.
Training for the next marathon starts in a couple weeks so I'm switching over to run long on Sunday mornings. During the farming busy season, this works much better because my husband usually works Saturdays when the weather is decent. The schedule just needs to stay flexible because agriculture certainly isn't a regular 9-5 job!
Total Running Mileage: 19.15 miles
Linking up with Holly and Tricia's Weekly Wrap Up and Faith's
I compleatly understand about feeling like an outsider. My husband and children have moved out of state 4x over the past 9 years and 3 other times within the same state. Basically 7 moves to 7 houses. My oldest child went to 5 different elementary schools.
ReplyDeleteIt's been hard to always feel like I'm starting over. This last move has been the best one so far and we feel more "at home" here in SC. I've just started to form friendships and have gotten involved in the local running community. I'm pretty sure we will be here for a while, or at least I hope!! Just hang in there as best you can. Keep making memories with your children and husband. I've learned over the years that your real home is where your heart is. " life takes us to unexpected places, family brings us home"
You know having lived in my hometown all my life I use to be afraid to move, but since we've had our RV and traveled a lot. I'm not near as afraid. I think staying in a small town, your childhood follows you too much. the mistakes you made seem to define who you are rather than your achievements. I'd be so easily swayed to move. Thanks Amy for linking up and your support!
ReplyDeleteWe moved here with my husband's job 28 years ago. We didn't know a soul. It was very hard for me for a few years. Now, we no longer consider family visits "going home" like we used to years ago because this is home. I haven't been to a parade in ages. Your kids are so cute sitting on that curb! I love that one is sporting cowboy boots with his patriotic shirt. Thanks for linking with us Amy! HoHo Runs
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