Our new life

I almost began this with—“our new life has officially begun!” 

Because my fiancé A and I spent the week end moving him in together with us, rearranging and reorganizing our little home, creating a cute little play room for the girls in the process, bringing in new living room, dining room, and master bedroom furniture, kitchen gadgets and appliances, purging all that we didn’t need, we must have made thousands of dollars in donations.  And afterwards, the house feels like a brand new house—it is completely different in look and light and sensitivity—it just doesn’t feel the same when you walk through the front door.  I feel so very lucky, and so very blessed.  And, lol, after two days of packing and unpacking, I felt like I’d run a half marathon and have the sore muscles to boot.  But I couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear, no matter how long we took to unpack, how many times I ran up the stairs to put something away, how many times I dragged something to the dumpster or saved something to donate to Kidney cars.

So when the girls and I came home from work/school yesterday, it was the very first time they laid eyes on our “new” home.  They had known A. was coming, just not the exact date.  So when they opened the door, they immediately threw down their school bags and went running and leaping through the house—they recognized the furniture from A’s former house—exploring every nook and cranny (especially in their new play room), exclaiming, “yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!” and “does this mean A is staying with us always?” and “this is soooo cool!”  Big sister finally settled down at her new work station to do her homework, and little sister immediately started making a fort out of the pillows on the new couch.

I seriously wish I had videotaped it.   Their little voices and their laughter and their running up and down the stairs—but I guess I won’t ever forget it, it’s now imprinted in my mind and heart.

And I realized also, that “our new life” hasn’t just begun because we moved in together, blending our family, in anticipation of our upcoming wedding.  Our “new life” began years ago, when we left an intolerable situation that jeopardized our health and safety.  That’s when our new life started.  Yesterday, and today, and tomorrow, they are beautiful gifts added to this journey of “our new life.”  Or maybe, it’s not “new” anymore, it just is what it is—life as we know it.   That makes me smile. <3