Changes

I'm still adjusting to Michigan and might be for a very long time. Everything here is so different, some things are different good and some things are different not so good. It's hard not to constantly feel like a fish out of water...

This week I encountered my first drive in snow, before the streets were plowed. It was awful :( When I got to Steven's school I was shaking, close to tears and did not want to drive home. But I said a prayer, found a better route and made it home (miraculously) in one piece. I really hope everyone behind me sees the Arizona license plate and understands why I drive like a crazy, snail! I also hope the plate explains why I can't back out of our driveway (which it doesn't but I wish it would). I have always had a hard time with backing up and now I have to back up a bazillion feet without hitting the house, the fence, or a big pile of snow. Boo! Why does leaving the house have to be so difficult!?

This old house continues to drive me crazy--allow me to complain for a long moment--- all the doors & windows leak in cold air, all the folding closet doors won't stay on their frames, the dishwasher is disgusting and unusable (meaning I now have to hand wash all dishes), the front door knobs do not work, there are rats that live in a closet in our bedroom (I swear I hear them at night) and the lead paint is chipping. Every time I complain my mom (when she was here) and Tyler say, "But it's SO cute!" They love to tease me. All I can say is, I felt good about this house so there must be a reason were here. There must be!

One last complaint, I miss having everything so close by! Literally everything is now 20-30 minutes away. We do have a Kroger's (aka Fry's) a few minutes away but it's no Walmart. I'm sort of stuck on the layout of Walmart and ad matching and such things and now I have to drive 20 minutes to get to my place of comfort. We also have to drive 30 minutes to church (which starts at 9am) and the mall is also about 30 minutes away. Oh how lovely things were in AZ.

But, I will end with good because it's not all bad. I love not tutoring anymore. It is amazing how much time that frees up in my day, how much more I enjoy cooking dinner and how much more time I have to help Steven with his homework. I love that Tyler is actually home in the evenings and we can have dinner together and Tyler can be there for Family Home Evening and we can watch movies together at night and run errands together, etc. I also love Steven having school later, from 9-4 instead of 8-3. For some reason it divides up our day perfectly plus I no longer have to wake up Lucy & Ben from naps to pick him up. And an added bonus, squirrels! There are cute little squirrels everywhere and the kids are just entranced by them. Really, it's a good life, I just have to get used to life as a Michagander.