With the past few months of real estate stress and our upcoming move, I’ve had my share of short-tempered moments, meltdowns, and feet stomping. Selling and buying a house, in tandem, can be an incredibly difficult task and while it seems that things are working out (knock on wood!), it’s not a process that I look forward to doing ever again.
Since the start of the new year, this move has been looming, hanging over my head like a grey cloud. And it’s not because I don’t look forward to the new life we’re heading towards—I so very much can’t wait until my husband is around more, instead of spending two hours each day commuting to his work. But I’ve been getting a little stuck in the day to day decisions (inspections, appraisals, movers, money) and have definitely not been my most fun self.
Thankfully though, last week, as the weather started to warm up, the grass started to green, and we were able to spend more time outside, I suddenly realized that there are GOOD aspects of this transition that I can choose to focus on. We’re moving to the house where Linden will start talking for real, where she’ll learn to run, where she’ll (in all likelihood) grow up. I’ll have a home office with an entire wall of built in shelves. My husband can walk to his office and we can all walk to the town square, to friends, to the park, to ice cream and the movie theater. Plus, I don’t want to miss the everyday moments that are happening as we move towards that new reality. They are, after all, the reason that I’m a work at home mama.
I am realizing that I can choose happiness more than I have been. It’s all about my outlook.
This was clarified when the other day, I took Linden to the park to go on the swings. It was about 75 outside and she squealed with delight while swinging. She was so happy to be flying through the air that she was also furiously kicking her feet. It was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. (She also then ate an entire banana, taking bites like a grown up, while sitting with me on a park bench. I was very proud and very impressed.)
The other thing that helped me to narrow my focus was this batch of lemon curd. It’s tart and slightly sweet (hint: if you cut the amount of sugar that’s called for, it’s less cloying, so more delicious!) and is pretty heavenly on toast, with vanilla ice cream, or with plain yogurt. The other night I stood at the kitchen counter and ate a few spoonfuls before bed. I’d technically already eaten dessert, but as each spoonful filled me with happiness, I decided that moment was more important than anything.
I’m going to see about carrying that outlook with me as I pack boxes—even if it means another batch of lemon curd to eat by the spoonful.