shoring

Who knew that an extreme close up could make the bottom of your cast iron tub look somewhat antiquey and interesting.

After all it is an antique, almost a century old.  Seems that if a cast iron tub has been in place for nearly one hundred years, eventually it will need some reinforcing.

So last week was spent shoring up of that ol' tub.  And the no-longer-sturdy front steps.  And the light fixtures in the stairwell that haven't worked for over a decade.  A decade!  It took less than an hour and $65 to the electrician.  Again, who knew?

We've been shoring up quite a bit.  Projects certainly, but also our emotions.  The emotions that rollick and roll as you take a huge humongous leap of faith.

A leap to a new house, in a new neighborhood, in a new community.  All the while keeping our current house to rent out to others.  Talk about a leap.

For easily 18 months we've been daydreaming about a move to a slightly bigger house with a much bigger yard.  Driving streets, becoming familiar with neighborhoods, weighing the pros and cons of each and every city within reason.  Spending hours upon hours scouring realty websites.  (Oh if I had a dime for every minute spent looking at houses on-line, we could afford a mansion!)

All of this dreaming is coming true.  In just the past couple weeks what we have been praying for has been falling into place, little by little.  And the emotions rise and fall and tremble at the edge of what is possible.  What might be.  What will be.

I've been shoring up my strength.  Preparing to say goodbye to good friends, and gracefully relinquishing commitments to PTA.  Realizing how much I love our teeny tiny house, even as I know we have quite outgrown it.  After 12 years it is exactly the way I like it.  Looking around town at special places that will be missed in our everyday.

Not to mention the roller coaster of house offers and waiting and rejections and waiting and counter offers and waiting.  And the clock is ticking, the very nice renters we found are moving in soon.

So most importantly, I've been shoring up my breath.  Knowing that this transition is going to take moment after moment of calm, I've been breathing slowly and deeply.  For myself,  for my children.  Though we aren't moving very far away, the change is quite real for these littles who have only known this teeny tiny house as home. 

So let this leap be not so scary, but exhilarating and inspiring and interesting too.

my word

This is the third year that I will be choosing one little word for the year.

My word in 2010 was create.

My word in 2011 was discovering.

This year, 2012, my word is calm.

I've been thinking about my word for quite some time, actually since early fall when I realized the many transitions my life would be taking.  At that point of the year I felt as if I had reached that point of "discovering" what it was I was intended to discover.  The next big phase of my life.

So since then, I've had time to really think about what word I wanted to focus on and embrace next.  I had been thinking of several, and at the turn of the year had it narrowed down to two:  either home or calm.

And after a couple decidedly un-calm days this week (ahem), I recognized that I indeed needed calm to be my word for 2012.

So I am thoroughly embracing calm this year.  And I am so, so lucky because I won the very generous giveaway from Tamara at Smiling for Grandma to participate in the One Little Word class.  This is definitely going to be a good thing for me to fully concentrate and reflect on calm in my life.

Have you chosen your word yet?  Do tell.