Getting Settled

Virginia Beach is not San Diego.

The weather is not gorgeous all the time and there are more bugs, BIG bugs. There are no palm trees and very few freeways. You can't drive 1/2 a mile without stumbling into a stripmall and the terrain is mostly flat.

Life is slower here. Life is simpler here.

Part of that is due to the fact that we know very few people in town. And with no kids in school, we have no place we "have" to be on any given day.

Honestly, that's been nice. No rushing, no busy-ness.

Accomplishing the mile-long-new-house-project-list is slow going with two kids in tow.  Avery did help me paint the kitchen, though. I think her self portrait is spot on!

And, while I was hyper-aware of the wet paint, making sure no small hands tracked blue high-fives to my furniture... I failed to notice Lear sneaking upstairs to leave his own mark on our brand new carpet. (Of all the WASHABLE markers Avery left out, how did he find the one gigantic permanent sharpie? Wait, why was there a sharpie in her stash in the first place?!?) *sigh*

Avery did, however, use her art supplies to draw this stunning portrait of me sailing. I just told her to go draw a picture of me and this is what she came up with. What a joy she didn't come back with a picture of me doing laundry or sweeping the kitchen!

Avery views me as a sailor, but my son will be sure to keep me classy. Every morning he finds these red pumps in my closet, brings them into the bathroom, and insists I put them on - as if I could totally handle a "mom-day" wearing those bad boys! As Matt says, "At least he's not wearing them!"

 

We've had lots of time to run through sprinklers,

check out the Atlantic shoreline,

and rainbow-gaze.

I get this distinct feeling that this will be a marvelous place to grow up. Whether my kids are building forts in the tall green trees, catching those big bugs in mason jars, or peddling their bikes fearlessly around this nice flat neighborhood, they will find joy in the little things. The air here is clear. There is room for growing healthy imaginations. The handful of new people we've met have opened their homes to us like old friends.

Virginia Beach is not San Diego. And I'm strangely ok with that.