Big Things: Focus

Portsmouth

This year, more than any other, seems to carry focus. Not because of some determined resolution but 

because of a path that I have slowly, oh so slowly, been wearing down and creating.

But before I can press my feet into the dirt and continue, I need to take a little bit of time to reflect. A year has ended and a new one has shuffled into place. In reflecting on 2015, the year of balance, it took me a moment to recognize the year as it was. Most of the changes, with some serious exception, are small. A few are light, simple, and fun. But my reason for creating a list is to provide a reminder, context. And in this post of introspection, I realize that 2015 was the year in which this quote proved true:





We rang in 2015 at our house with some of my best college friends. It was wonderful!

A few weeks later, Nick, Emaline, and I flew to Sanibel, Florida with my parents. We rode bikes, collected shells, watched sunsets, drank jai-alai, and swam in the ocean.

While we were there we found out that my Nana Rice was very sick. We wondered if we needed to return home early, but the decision was made for us when a massive snowstorm shut down New England. When we were able to get back,we spent time with my Nana before she passed away.

Nick pulling Emaline through the backyard of the house where my Mom grew up.

My Uncle Paul doing something on the roof. My Nana watching us through the window. The last day we saw her.

On my birthday, we said goodbye to my last grandparent. I wrote about her here. We spent the next few months buried in snow.

When finally the last bit of white melted away, we broke the record for the snowiest winter in Boston's recorded history. And moving forward from that hibernation, I realize now, how many small changes happened then:

• Started a number of house projects 
• Tended the yard and gardens around our home
• Discovered podcasts 
• Continued to simplify, declutter, and slow my home
• Began eating more fruits and veggies with a daily smoothie
• Got myself to enjoy black coffee
• Started wearing lipstick. (It only took me 32 years to decide that I liked the way it looked.) 
• Learned to like cooking a bit more and picked up a few recipes
• Took a painting class
• Attended networking events
• Found a workout class that I really enjoy and have stuck with it. Barre!

In May, we celebrated Emaline's second birthday with a big party at our house and got her a swing-set. A few weeks later, Nick had to go to Amsterdam for a work conference and I took the opportunity to join him. We left Emaline with my Mom and traveled Bruges and Amsterdam for six days. It was a great reminder how much Nick and I love to travel together and want that for our family in the years to come. We also:

• Traveled to Minneapolis three times
• Vacationed on the Cape
• Visited the National Seashore
• Hosted a number of family and friends

The day after we returned from Europe, the organization that I serve as a volunteer board member had our biggest event of the year! We shut down the main street in Portsmouth to host the Stiletto Sprint! A short race run in heels (men and women) to raise money for Big Brothers Big Sisters. It was an incredible event and I am so proud to be a part of it. In our last meeting, I agreed to take a higher position on the board for this coming year.

And at the end of the summer, I got an offer to join a long term writing project. An author who I love and respect is writing a historical fiction novel and has asked me to research and edit. I officially started on September 1st and it is the best!

In addition to this list, are the countless days I have spent with Emaline. Often we are in pajamas, playing hide and seek or babies or kitchen or coloring or singing or freeze dancing. I will admit that sometimes Emaline has to say "Mama, play with me!" before I decide that it is okay to stop what I am doing (this included) and be with her completely. But every night when I squeeze her in my arms before tucking her in, I know this is a time to cherish. And I do. She is no longer a baby but a little person. She is smart, funny, thoughtful, and curious. She counts, sings, knows her colors and letters, uses a high-pitched voice when we play pretend. Every day she does something that just pulls on my heart. This morning she hid stuffed animals in Nick's jacket pocket to surprise him when he went to work.

So 2016, I am ready for you. 2016 is the year of focus. Travel. Finances. Family. Friends. Writing.

Happy New Year!

Summer: Full House

This shall be known as the summer of hosting!

I typically feel guilt when this much time passes without showing my blog some love but this summer was full (hard to believe it's almost a year since this) and the time that I did have to write, I gave to my novel.

The house is quiet for the moment and we have fallen back into a rhythm. But as I notice the date, it seems to signify the end of summer. So I pause to take stock of my favorite season.

As a family we managed one trip to Minnesota, three trips to Cape Cod, numerous beach days, countless hours of yard work, and five (soon to be six) sets of visitors!

We have had house guests nearly nonstop since the beginning of July. As a result, everything has existed around providing a welcoming home and making the most of time together.

I am so grateful to have friends and family that are willing to take time to travel and stay with us. As I have written before, it is powerful when somebody you love is able to step into your everyday and sample your life.

It is looking at life through another lens. And it affords the opportunity to to be a tourist in my own town. It is an excuse to not waste the summer-  the best restaurants and beaches and outdoor concerts and harbor cruises and painting classes and barbecues. It allows a fall back into comfortable friendships and builds new memories.

The beds have been cleared yet again. The laundry and dishes put away. The house- reset. 

Now I write it down. 

But the heat lingers and we likely have a few more days of salt and sand before the season sneaks away. So I embrace each day and try to remember everything that we did. 

Last Bit of Winter: Momentary Escape

 Happy Spring. Although, it does not feel much like spring. The sun is definitely getting stronger but it is 21 degrees and there are mounds of snow everywhere. I am so over winter, snow, and being inside. I know I am repeating the words of so many others but- come on!

In the last few days, even Toby seems to have hit a wall. He gets so spun up and wants to play but can't stay focused to follow through with our usual games. I think he has cabin fever. It's like my little gray puppy has an internal calendar letting him know that spring is here. He wants out and so do I.

I think this is the first winter that Nick and I have not escaped somewhere warm. Usually there is a trip to break things up, to remind me that winter is long but that summer will come again. It is encouraging to go somewhere that does not suffer winter the way we do. A place where skin can be exposed and where winter does not include frozen sidewalks and icicle clad houses.

  I do not know when I will be somewhere tropical again. It will not be for awhile. I had a dream last night that Nick and I were on a resort on an island. It was amazing. I woke up and could not stop thinking about sunshine, waves, and colorful drinks.

And so I took to pinterest. If I can't make it happen, I can at least imagine where I would go...

 

A Few Notes From Abroad: Pictures to Come

Yes, we went to Paris and London and now we are home. Since I did not post on facebook or on the blog when we left, some people did not know the trip already happened. It kind of makes me feel like Nick and I snuck off to Europe and I am very much okay with that.

I have been wanting to post ever since we got back. I have been waiting to share pictures. The thing is, I do not really know how to get images off of Nick's camera or his phone. I need his help and we have been sick and he has started back at school. As a result, I have not been able to commandeer his brain. Soon, I promise.

I will say- it was wonderful! We had so much fun! Paris and London are such amazing cities. They are not very similar, except that they are massive and full of history.

London felt like being in the home of a distant relative. Maybe a great aunt who you do not know well, but when you hear her speak, she sounds familiar. Her walls, covered in the images of your family, solidify stories that you have heard your whole life. She can point to events, people, histories that are so famous, so long ago, they seem like a fairytale. 

 And Paris, Oh Paris! If London is a distant family member, Paris is an unrequited love. I never stood a chance. It happened at first sight and every day that passed, every baguette that was purchased, had me falling deeper. The city demands your attention. The Eiffel Tower did not disappoint but It does not stand alone in elegance. One afternoon, Nick suggested that we picnic in the garden by our hotel. I hesitantly agreed and we walked a few blocks to find the most beautiful park I have ever seen. That is Paris, brimming with surprise and hidden beauty.

Jardin Des Plantes

When I am able to share our photos, I will write again. I will tell you where we went and the silly things we did. Until then, Heather: this post is for you.

Finding the Words: Preparing to Fly

I struggle to find the words to express what it means to be going back to Australia. It is unbelievable. It is incredible. It is something I have thought about, wished for countless times. And what I hope beyond all else is that while we are there, we are able to fully sink into the opportunity we have been given to revisit the place, on the other side of the planet, where we fell in love, over seven years ago.

I wish it was not just vacation. I wish it was longer. Nick and I have talked many times about going back to live for a year or two. It sounds so wonderful but with family and dogs and school, it has not yet happened.

I have said this before but it is not just the start of our relationship that makes this place special. It is the complete joy that we experienced while we lived there. It is a contentment we felt every single day.

I know this trip will not be like last time. I know that. And that is okay. People have asked me numerous times if I am nervous about going back. I understand the concern. A memory that is so perfect, do we really want to mess with that? Absolutely. Nick and I plan to make this return trip one of many throughout our lives. We want to travel there with our someday children. Maybe when we're retired we will stay for a longer stretch. I love the idea of elderly Nick and Kerin surfing in Bondi or bridge climbing in Sydney. Australia is a vast continent (roughly the size of America) and Nick and I want to know it all.

Great Ocean Road

Uluru

Great Barrier Reef

Five and a half days at work. I just have to get through five and a half days before I get to leave for almost three weeks. I hate that I look at it like that, but it's honest. The fewer days at work the better, but I am starting to get anxious about the task list I have to complete before we leave.

We get on a plane to L.A. next Friday. The days between now and then look like this:

Today: Work. Gym. Shop for Christmas presents.
Friday:  Work. Happy Hour. Plan rest of trip
Saturday:  Christmas party, Christmas party
Sunday:  Christmas party. Book inter Australia flights
Monday:  Work. Gym. Pack. Brave New Workshop
Tuesday:  Work late day. 4 month wedding anniversary.
Wednesday:  Work. Pedicure. Gym. Laundry
Thursday:  Work. Revamp appointment
Friday: Day off. Brunch with Sam. Drop off dogs. Clean, pack - LEAVE.

I have started doing silly little things to start warming my brain, to get myself in the right mindset. I am streaming TripleJ at work right now. I have added Australian weather and clocks to my iGoogle page. It is 5:30am tomorrow and 65 degrees in Sydney.

A few weeks prior to my first trip to Australia, I received the most spot-on horoscope I have ever read. It said  "What you need to do now is picture yourself above the clouds." As I prepare for this journey I am reminded of that quote and am ready to start lifting off the ground.