40 Days

2009

this morning the littlest was eating his breakfast-quietly. i asked, "what goes on in that little brain of yours?" "i'm just thinking," he replied. "i'm thinking about our move. i'm really excited."

i'm going to be honest. i've been struggling lately. like really, really struggling. an ordinary exchange can put me in a tither. like when the vet assistant snapped at me and i, well, snapped back. i think it has a little to do with all i have going on in my life at the moment. traditional wisdom encourages one to avoid too many changes within quick succession of one another. it seems that we in the girl friday camp have thrown caution to the wind as we attempt to see how many changes we can accomplish in very, very quick order. 

i checked my calendar and counted the days. 40 days. i thought of noah. that's the length the scripture tells us he spent cooped up on that large boat with his family and all those animals as the waters kept him afloat. 

40 days was the length of jesus's fast before he went to the cross.

40 days is how long i have til we make our way to the{more}south. 

yep. after 4 years of living outside DC, our little family along with the 2 dogs we've picked up along the way will make our way back to tennessee. nashville awaits. 

last week my Mister along with some cherished friends{josh 1, josh 2, chris, aaron, ryan, sam 1 and sam 2, andrew and mike}spent days cleaning and clearing and wheeling and dealing and painting and sanding and spraying our little-cottage-in-the-hood. it seems that in 40 days we'll be leaving our little cottage-on-the-hill for an even littler cottage-in-the-hood. the hood, you ask? that's our beloved neighborhood of east nashville. only the best place on earth. if you ask me.

i can't wait. really. i can't believe it's happening. but i will miss this place. i will miss who our family is up here. goodness, i will miss the sunset over the appalachian trail. i will miss the DC skyline. i will miss the painstaking loveliness of our darling historic town. i will miss meeting the Mister downtown for lunch and seeing him run into dozens of people who know him, none of whom i know. i will miss the people who have welcomed us into their lives. i will miss the milk delivery and how you can't turn a corner without being face to face with history. i will miss the anonmity of living here. the drive over the potomac river. the quick jaunts to nyc, baltimore, gettysburg, philly.

we have few friends, few commitments, few requirements. this has afforded our family four years of putting down roots in one another. and it has been good. and it has been hard. and it has been lonely. but it has been lovely. and so very worth it. and there are so many other things i will miss. far too many to list. 

in 40 days we'll be driving our {pared down}earthly treasures{anyone want an armoire?} and our most prized peoples back to our old house in our old neighborhood to reminisce with our oldish{we're the oldest of most of ours}friends who await our return. 

like noah on the ark and jesus in the wilderness, we have a long and arduous journey{not quite as arduous-you get the picture}. but this is also our providence. and for that we humbly oblige. and hold on for dear life and hope that our lives calm. we welcome all these changes-and hope for no more. at least for a few months.

2013

xo,

gf

{relieved and saddened. our sweet friends from high school sent word they were fine. my heart aches for those who aren't. boston continues to be marked as a place of much revolution and redemption. sometimes i think we need a tragedy to remind us there is good and that good prevails.}