I was walking around our backyard tonight at dusk. I looked back at the house and realized how lovely it looked with the winter sky as a background and the lights from the inside, my people living in it and going about their evening. I had just put something in the oven for dinner and…
HOME
When I was a child and we would return home from vacation, I would shut my eyes really tight and take a deep breath as we rounded the corner on our street, to reveal our house. Every time we left and came back I had this fear of our house burning down while we were…
A New Threshold
I bought a house. Let me repeat that. I BOUGHT A HOUSE!!! After renting for many years, turning the key and stepping over the threshold last night was like opening the best present ever! I see it as a gift to my children mostly… for their stability and future. I have longed for a home…
Fresh Start
I hear the same birds cawing and chirping as I did before, since the house is literally less than a block away from the previous one. The one we/I lived in for 8 years, almost exactly. I moved out of it two weeks after the eighth anniversary. I moved for a few reasons, including some…
Yesterday & Today
Today was a long day. Before we left Austin I ran a Christmas present errand and then I stopped by Starbucks. No big convo about my name this time. It was fun to play Santa for just a bit and a grab a coffee in peace. Then I loaded up the kids and all of…
Fixer Upper
I walked the dog through my parents’ neighborhood yesterday, trying to remember which families lived where. I passed by my childhood friend Corrie’s house, and thought about the fun we used to have there and how we made prank calls once to ask people if their refrigerator was running and if so, they better go catch…
Make This Place Your Home
On my social media accounts I call myself a Texan at heart. But I cannot lie, Louisiana has a piece of it now too. See the thing is, once you live somewhere for seven plus years and your kids grow up there (here) and you grow attached to the people and the culture the food,…
Post-Election Blues
Yesterday was weird. I was in a haze for part of the day. I woke up and saw that Trump had won and I cried. No, I did not vote for Hilary either. I am one of those “3rd party” voters that people are pissed at. Funny thing is, I didn’t even vote for one…
Recently*
Staying busy is good for me, especially when it involves time with cherished family and friends. Thankfully, I have been able to spend quite a bit of time with both lately, and most recently my family. During the middle of March my parents came for their first visit here in a year! They were supposed…
Alone Time
I have to turn on the t.v. because it’s just too quiet without them here. I have it on mostly just for background noise, occasionally I really watch. This helps my brain pretend that it’s not just me and the dog in the house. Or something like that. There are a million things I could do, like clean…