Growing Greggs - A Love Story: Week 3

Monday, January 16, 2017

I am going to try and incorporate a 30-45 minute break each afternoon for me to have some quiet time each day to recharge. Because it is clear that the success of what I am trying to accomplish with our family rests solely on my shoulders, and because it is a huge undertaking, I need to make sure that I am at my best each day. I found that by the end of last week I was really struggling to give my best to my family because I was burnt out.

Our family mission statement is coming along. We have been working on it the last 3 family meetings that we have had and have made some good progress in terms of whittling down what we want it to look like and some of our key values. Right now we have chosen 11 key values and are going to try and get those down to around 5 to focus on for our statement. Once we have created it I would like to have it printed and framed on a main wall in our home. Everyone is actively taking part in this missions statement and it is neat to see which values are most important to which kid. Some of the values chosen don't surprise me at all while others do.

Someone sent me a quote on Pinterest that I loved. It resonated with me and I have been thinking about that quote and some others that were similar and how true they are to me and my life. I think a big part of a lot of my life struggles are that I am a wild, free, emotional spirit that is constantly trying to tame oneself to fit into a neat box, but in doing so I am really just strangling myself. The best thing I can do is to live free - even if that doesn't look like everyone says it should - and to show my kids that it is okay to be a wild spirit. It is okay to think outside the box and live outside the box. I don't want them to spend their days fighting internally with themselves. That constant turmoil is horrible. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Here are some of the quotes that spoke volumes to me:

The Wild Woman has a deep love of Nature, A love for the Ancient Mother, though possibly misunderstood, it has always been in her. When she goes into the wilderness, a part of her is Soul is going home. -Shikoba- WILD WOMAN SISTERHOOD™:

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

The public school kids haven't been to school in a week because of the snow that we had last Tuesday. The snow has shut the entire city down for the most part and has made living here incredibly annoying. It's snow people. No one shovels sidewalks here or plows roads. So the snow just sits and turns into ice. Our rental complex did nothing in terms of shoveling or clearing the snow from the driveways and roads leading to our buildings. This despite the fact that if I had to guess the average person here pays around $1900 a month for rent. You would think that for that amount of money the management company could at least pay someone to come out and clear the sidewalks. It has been hard enough to get around these parts as a completely able bodied person I cannot imagine what it must be like to be an abled differently person. Anyone living in the Midwest (or any where else that gets snow) would be appalled at the way this city has handled this storm. It was 6-8 inches of snow. If handled properly it could have been cleared in two days time - at the most. We live right next to Mt. Hood and the Pacific Ocean both areas which get snow regularly. If we don't have plow trucks or salt trucks we could have rented them from those areas. The garbage company didn't come last week. The DMV was shut down locally around here yesterday. Packages that were supposed to have arrived days ago have been held up due to the snow storm. Seriously, I think even my southwestern family who never really see snow of this magnitude would have rolled their eyes by now at the ridiculousness of chaos and panic that has taken over this town. I am so over this "blizzard" (as one radio host called it. Ha! Blizzard my arse.)

Friday, January 20th

As I step away from electronics more and more each day I find that its magnetic pull lessens, but yet I can tell how easy it would be for me to step back into the life of constantly being on my iphone or pulled back in to Facebook. I struggle some days with not checking my email on my phone as it is so much easier than coming upstairs and logging into the computer. But yet I am choosing for it to be more difficult because it forces me to be more intentional with my time.

Being intentional is such a struggle for me. It is hard work for me and coming more intentional each day has caused me to realize how intentional I am not. And how much farther I have to go. (I know this sentiment may be an echo from an earlier post, but it is what is on my mind right now, and therefore, is what will be shared even if it is a duplicate thought.)

There have been some really cool parts of our lives that have come back that we are all enjoying. Our school day has seen an increase in cool science projects and art projects all of which the kids are really into. This is when life is fun and all of this hard work is worth it. These moments of joy on my kids faces and their excitement and blossoming creativity are what make me push through all of the hard moments when someone is having a meltdown or something is going awry and I just want to quit.

The constant prep work that is needed to be organized and not frazzled frazzles me. : )
But I keep up with it (for the most part) because I see good coming out of all that I am trying to do. I can see my purpose and my life's work before me in the eight eyes that stare back at me every day. And I know that living with intention is my calling for this season of my life.

The walks Bob and I have been taking a couple of times a week have been tremendously helpful to me. We walk with the dogs through a nearby neighborhood and into a nature preserve whose path winds into and out of other neighborhoods. These walks are so refreshing as it is usually just the two of us and the dogs out at this time of night and we can take them off of their leashes and let them run wild and free. I think of our P-loop walks in New Mexico a lot when we are out especially when the stars are out. I wish I didn't miss New Mexico as much as I do, but I cannot help it. I know that when we leave here there are things I will miss about living here as well as this place is ever so slowly growing on me. It sometimes makes me wonder if our travels are worth it when every where you go you leave with a broken heart. At the same time, when I look at the photos that pass by on our computer when it is in the sleep mode and I see all that we have done these last 3.5 year and all of the places we have been all of it - the heartbreak and joy, the sadness and the triumph - have all been worth it hands down.

Here is a look at our week:

A morning sky & my only glimpse of the sun at the beginning of the week.

I love these little glimpses of blue sky that I get to see sometimes. It reminds me that above the gloom is a beautiful sky.

Breakfast

A new team...

The colors just don't seem right...#Riorapidsforlife

He chose 18 because that is the number of his good buddy in Cruces.

Another morning...another glimpse of the sun before the clouds move in.

Working on a brain activity.

Being a good sport even though the activity was below him a bit educationally.

I am surprised at just how much Josh has gotten into the extra activities I have been trying to include in our school work. This project on the brain was no exception. He was diligent and took his time to get things just right.

Sarah teaching Josh the beginning letters of braille.

It occurred to me that a great way for Sarah to gain some confidence and a great way for the kids to enter into her world would be for them to learn braille. (Plus, its pretty neat to be able to tell people that you know how to read braille. Not too many sighted people can say that.) The kids are really into her lessons and I help her prepare them before hand, but the show is hers once the lesson begins. She has been doing a great job teaching.