new home

We've made it to West Bridgewater!

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, I packed the boys and Moriah into our little car and drove through Boston to our new home--my in-laws house in West Bridgewater. The boys and I had a lovely tour of their new school (so amazed by the resources available there, and the kindness of the principal and staff). Even the boys liked the place, which is saying a lot. :) Then, as promised, I took the boys shoe shopping. Both of them have been saving for new sneakers and the sale of their parakeets gave them enough money to get the shoes they wanted (the rule at our house: we buy the "necessary" shoes, and if they want to spend $80 on a pair of name-brand sneakers, that's their business, and their money). Orilus ended up with a sweet pair of Nikes, and Jackson with a crazy pair of Jordans...the thrilling part being we learned a new way to lace their shoes (two colors, with one color on each side). Thrilling, that is, if you are 12 or 13. If you're a 33-year-old mother with a sore back, you're just looking for a place in the mall to sit. Somehow, I think these shoes represent for the boys their readiness to start at their new school on Monday...they have refused to wear them all weekend an d keep talking about how cool they're going to look.

Sooo...after going to FIVE shoe stores, and three of them three times EACH, we went back with shoes in hand to the Winchells, and waited for Jason to arrive with a van-load of stuff so we could officially "move in" to the in-laws. He did arrive, about 5:00 pm, and we spent the next hour and a half unloading, unpacking clothes, setting up beds, and trying not to complain about who had the more exhausting day--me, running around with two shoe-crazed boys, or Jason, who tried to keep classrooms of teenagers under wraps the day before a holiday and then spent a couple hours loading up our stuff. Still not sure on that one. Afterwards, we had a birthday dinner (I think I was awake for that part). It was my birthday on Wednesday, and a truly strange way to spend the day, though I must say, it was hilarious...I've been enjoying the boys so much in the last weeks (I swear, they get funnier the older they get). And they began the day with some really poignant birthday cards (Orilus wrote: "Always remember you'll always be my mom in my heart," and Jackson wrote: "Moms rock," and I think both pretty much mean the same thing, if you ask me).

Thursday was Thanksgiving. We took a long walk in the morning, with Jason showing the boys the through-the-woods shortcut to their new school (they can walk or ride their bikes, as we are close enough that they are not within the bus zone). We called family, ate some dinner, hung out with family here (and my dear friend Val, who joined us...so good to see a Lynn-er in West Bridgewater!).

Yesterday was a yucky, rainy, day-after-holiday, we're-tired-and-grumpy day. Suffice it to say, we survived, and somehow, our children lived to see today (but barely).

Today we were up early again and headed back to Lynn for the final "moving out" of our house. Thank you to our friends who were able to come by to help or to say good-bye; it did my heart so much good to see you. When our house was all cleaned out, Jason and I just stood there and hugged and I cried. We've been married 12-1/2 years, 11-1/2 of them spent in Lynn, and today marked the closing of a major chapter of our lives, really, the only chapter of our lives that we've known. As we walked out our kitchen door, Jason noticed something we nearly forgot--an iron cut-out that reads, "Numbers 6:24," a blessing from the Torah, which reads: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face to you and give you peace." We took it down, the very last thing we took from our house, and from our life in Lynn. For me, a symbol of a radical trust that no matter what comes next, we will find grace and experience again that it is Love that ultimately keeps us.