It's a Love / Hate Thing

Not really hate.....that's such a strong word, isn't it? I guess love/ dislike would be better? I've had some thoughts about our move from our hometown to our new reality. I have to tell you, most days it all seems very surreal. Our life here is very different than our life back home. Our routine has completely changed. And, truth be told, we've changed. 

Time for one of my pro/con lists.....

*Though I am shy at heart, when we first moved here I pushed myself to be outgoing. In the past year, I've become a bit more cautious, a bit less trusting. Working on being less of a doormat {wink to my dear friend Tiffanie}

*It has taken me a while to process the change from a house on 5 acres, to a townhouse/apt surrounded by concrete. The boys have adjusted far better than I have. I miss my space, my hardwood floors, my deck. Gosh, I'm almost hyperventilating while thinking about it. There are so many things that I DO like about our new "home". It's all just very different. Very different.


*Love the food and shopping available around every corner.....dislike how ridiculously expensive living near NYC is {the houses are at least triple the price from back home}

 

{We've had our eye on this house. It's for sale and had really tempted us to lay roots here. It's close to the road and on the smaller side , but we were intrigued. Then we saw the price tag....$1.3 million!! Umm, we'll pass......}

*Love that we have so many choices.We have so many different directions we can go. Each weekend we try to do something different. On the flip side, I miss our weekends hanging out in our backyard. I wrestle with that.

*Love meeting so many different types of people.....wish we had a home to entertain
and decorate and make our own and.....

*We thought the doctors would be better.....that's been disappointing {miss our old dr's!}

*Love the homeschool laws.....miss the familiarity of homeschooling back home....but like finding our new groove here.

*Love running into Jet's players while out walking in our complex.....I mean, that didn't happen back home. I think it's funny that this old gal gets starry eyed over big football players {Greg thinks it's funny, too}.

*Still professing my love for Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

*The boys have accepted NJ as their new home. They said that they now have 2 homes. We are so glad that they have embraced this new life. They asked if we could go into NYC this weekend.....I love that they have that option.  I often wrestle with my desire to be back home vs here.

*Love that the boys are taking drum lessons from a real rocker. He's wonderful with the boys. Let me remind you that we live in an apartment. We'll be switching to his house soon....I'm sure my neighbors will be happy about that. The drum teacher had the boys jamming to Earth, Wind, & Fire. So neat.

*Greg loves his job. We are thankful just for the fact that he has a job. Having one that he enjoys is frosting on our cake.

Moving has brought many great experiences. We've grown individually and as a family...of course, we are still growing {and learning}{and simplifying!}. It's a wonderful journey....and I am so very thankful.

BTW-I'm reading a new book. It is so good!  Grace for the Good Girl by Emily Freeman. She's a fellow people pleaser. I was hesitant to read it because....I'm not really what I would call a good girl. I'm surprised how much I am relating to what the author writes.  I just finished reading Against the Tide by Nancy Missler {surprisingly gleaned much from this book}

Also, BTW-The flooding has dried up, but our complex playground is a disaster. Such a mess.