Settling

I have neglected my blog. There I said it. I have thought about it, written posts in my head, and then turned my back to the computer because I wasn’t sure where to start. But last night it rained. Why does that matter? I’m not sure. But we’ve been without rain for so long that as it bounced off the water, which is my new backyard, it seemed to be lulling me into believing I had a fresh start.

A little catch up. We moved to Houston in March. Lived with my parents for a month, while my husband stayed an hour and a half away with my sister and brother-in-law. Looking for a house was not fun. Silly me, I thought it would be. But nothing compared to my beloved Cotton-Top Hills, nothing. WB told me I needed to look at this whole house hunting thing as a way to live life a little differently. Differently meaning, give up the country and move to the ‘burbs. It was more then I could stomach. So I stressed and complained and declared, “I just wasn’t moving”. WB listened, cajoled, and gently told me his job was now in Houston and Amarillo would be a long commute. He gave me pep talks and told me to just narrow the houses down to a few and then he could come look.

We decided on a little community west of Houston. It is a small town busting at the seams, but still feels like a little country town in many ways. Plus, it is only 30 minutes from my husband’s work and minutes from a nice drive through the countryside. Oh, and my sister, brother-in-law, and new baby live here. I have not lived near my sister since my junior year in high school when my parent’s moved to Houston and I stayed behind in Dallas to finish up my senior year. And when I say she lives here, I mean we live on the same street! Just down the street. Around the corner. A short walk. It still seems strange to me, but it has been amazing. WB and I have lived on the other side of Texas, far from the rest of our family for 20 years. Now suddenly we have family all around. We can go visit for just a day if we want. We’re still wrapping our brain around that.

Oh, and in the midst of all my moaning and crying. Yes, crying, which I don’t like to do. I mean I cry at sweet stories, or those really tragic ones on TV or while reading a book. And sometimes, my friends, I do the angry cry. The I-am-at- the-end-of-my-rope, don’t you dare mess with me right now cry.  But emotional- pity party cries, I don’t like them. They are messy and draining and scare my husband.  But I have cried so much in the last 3 months that WB has almost lost that wide- eyed, deer in the headlight look when I start tearing up. Instead, he just opens his arms as I collapse into them. Soaking his shirt and blubbering uncontrollably. I would like to think all this crying has been cleansing. Yes, I prefer to think that. And along with that line of thinking I believe I have been cleansed enough for the next several years. So no more blubbering please. Anyway, in the midst of this we found a house.

WB picked it in the end. I threw out my neat lists of must haves and can’t haves, because this house didn’t exactly fit in any of those lists. No house probably would have anyway. WB knew the moment he saw it, it was meant to be ours. I thought he was crazy. He thought I couldn’t see through all the tears.  But we have been here for a month and it is beginning to feel like home. We’ve had a rough first few weeks, but I can say, without a doubt, we are settling. But that doesn’t mean I have all my boxes unpacked!

Just a couple pictures from our new place. I guess I need to get out and take some more.

We’ve traded rolling canyons for a little lake in our backyard, complete with our own fishing dock.