A Thunderstorm, a Letter and One Thousand Gifts

We had our first real summer thunderstorm last night. Thunder shook the whole house, lightning lit up the entire sky and rain poured like a monsoon. It went on for a good four hours. I think my state of mind can best be summed up by what I said as I held on to her for dear life in bed. She said “Um Mommy why are you hugging me like a baby hugs her mommy when I’m the baby and you are the Mommy?” I couldn’t stop giggling. These kids have adjusted to life in the mid-west better than I seem to have.

A dear friend wrote me a letter. Remember those? It was so much fun to receive a letter and as I read it out loud it was as if she was right beside me talking. One of her questions to me was what do you like about your new city?  It made me think about all the good things that have happened to us since moving here. It helped me turn the corner so to speak and was exactly what I needed. So this post is all about the good stuff, the positives that have come out of moving out of Los Angeles and to a small town in St. Louis, Missouri.

No more 2-hour work commutes for T. We have him around a whole lot more in our lives. He rides his bike to and from work- a nice 10 minute ride. In LA, his work commute was 2 hours each way. He also comes home for lunch. It’s pretty awesome. Dinner is no longer at 7 pm or not at all. We eat between 5:30-6 pm. One of us says blessing over our food and we eat, laugh and talk over big family dinners at the dinner table on a regular basis, not just on Sundays.

Life no longer stops on Sunday night. Since T is around a whole lot more, we enjoy family time during weekday evenings. Family walks after dinner or a trip to the park so the boys can fly their remote controlled planes. Or bearing witness to a great father-son bonding moment. Here’s a great picture of T showing C how to mow the lawn. A time-honored tradition that has fallen to the wayside partially the result of so many affordable Mexican gardeners in California. Here, in Missouri, not too many mexicanos  if any at all and so we find ourselves responsible for lawn maintenance. And let me tell you, come the fall season with all the leaves coming down, the boys will be crying and whining up a storm. I thoroughly look forward to it. He he he.

And Then There Was Just Love

I’m surrounded by moving boxes. The house is bare. Surprisingly, I am very calm. I woke up this morning around 3 a.m.- sweaty and anxious. Fell back asleep and when I woke up, I felt God’s presence. And I became very calm. He was reminding me that he is right next to me- wherever I may go. Cue to a meditative prose that a friend had sent me the day before. It had read:

“Wading wearily through the debris of our sixth house move in 25 years, I found a slip of paper my daughter had taped near her bed. “Put off till tomorrow those tears…Because between now and tomorrow, maybe I, God, will have passed your way.” …And with every challenge, he inquires: What is it you really need to be happy? Is it this job? this house? These transitions are his way of guiding us to the door of our one true home.”

Thank you Lord. Thank you for the reminder. In so many ways.

These past few weeks have been filled with love. I am overflowing with love. Thank you sisters. Thank you family. Thank you friends. I have been processing all the events from the past few weeks and here’s where I am at.

My sisters really love me. Sometimes they get on my nerves. Sometimes I get on theirs. They can frustrate me to all end. But at the end of the day, who knows you better and calls you on your shit better than your sisters? Nobody that’s who. I am beyond blessed to have four- count ’em four sisters all with different, colorful personalities. Yes, God knew exactly what he was doing. We left behind the 17 kids we gave birth to and spent some much needed quality time together- just the five Sanchez girls. They took me out to dinner followed by a wine and painting class. Also, I discovered I am not a painter.