We've been living in our beautiful River House for exactly one year now.
I never even begined to imagine one year ago how different my life would be today. OK, maybe I did do a little imagining, and wishing and hoping.
And what we're living right now? Better than what I could have dreamed.
Of course, there are still struggles. Not everything is perfect, but we're sure trying.
And enjoying. Living in the moment, living for today, while still trying to best prepare for the future that seems to arrive on a daily basis faster than the day it did before.
We're happy. We love our home, we adore our community, and my heart is wide open to possibilities.
It's a nice way to be!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
It takes a village
I'm certain that I've mentioned before just how amazing our community is. It was proven to me AGAIN this weekend.
A few months back I got this idea in my head. You see, our friends have this AMAZING pond that they share with all of us. We swim in it in the summer, skate on it in the winter, it's a real gathering place for all of us. The only trouble with it, is that in the summer, there is NO place to hide to get out of the sun. Many a portable tent has been blown away in the strong winds that rip through there. It needed something permanent.
So we gathered the troops, bought some wood, and did this:
(Piggies, new members of the extended family, thrown in for good measure!)
A few months back I got this idea in my head. You see, our friends have this AMAZING pond that they share with all of us. We swim in it in the summer, skate on it in the winter, it's a real gathering place for all of us. The only trouble with it, is that in the summer, there is NO place to hide to get out of the sun. Many a portable tent has been blown away in the strong winds that rip through there. It needed something permanent.
Nearly EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. in our community showed up at one point or another to pitch in. Some swung hammers, some made lunch, but everyone came together to make this happen like it only could have in the best of my dreams.
It takes a village to do a lot of things. Raise a family, organize a village garage sale, or build a pergola it would seem.
Oh my heck do I love this place!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Weekend of Bliss
We have this "event" here in the Valley called the Crawl. It's EXACTLY what it sounds like...we travel from house to house to house, having a drink (or three) at each house, and then crawl home... eventually.
It. Was. Awesome.
We actually were one of the host houses, which necessitated one key factor - getting rid of the kids for the weekend. So off they went to be spoiled beyond beleif at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They had a blast!
And we took advantage of every. single. kidfree moment that we had.
After a Friday night of copious amounts of drinking and dancing, we enjoyed a sleep in of EPIC proportions. It was all kinds of heaven. We then decided to take the pup for a walk, and low and behold if our friends were starting to gather again, for a hangover-curing deep fry fest in a neighbors driveway. Their stop the night before included an English Pub theme (yes, each house has a theme) and they busted out one of those "driveway deepfryers" for some pub-style fish and chips. Saturday morning we polished off the leftovers, and then some, after the fryer running for three solid hours! It was the best cure for a hangover ever!
We hung out with our friends all day, never once having to worry about what sorts of shenanagins the kids were getting into. I love them to death, but a curious three year old and a 6 year old with ASD doesn't make for a lot of restful moments. The kids came home yesterday afternoon, showered me with homemade gifts for Mother's Day, and then back to hang with friends and watch the hockey game.
It was restful, rejuvinating, and exactly what Steve and I both needed.
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking the kids. Thank you Steve for hanging out with me all weekend. And thank you Valley for being as awesome as you are...which is truly, remarkably, beyond everything I ever could have imagined.
It. Was. Awesome.
We actually were one of the host houses, which necessitated one key factor - getting rid of the kids for the weekend. So off they went to be spoiled beyond beleif at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They had a blast!
And we took advantage of every. single. kidfree moment that we had.
After a Friday night of copious amounts of drinking and dancing, we enjoyed a sleep in of EPIC proportions. It was all kinds of heaven. We then decided to take the pup for a walk, and low and behold if our friends were starting to gather again, for a hangover-curing deep fry fest in a neighbors driveway. Their stop the night before included an English Pub theme (yes, each house has a theme) and they busted out one of those "driveway deepfryers" for some pub-style fish and chips. Saturday morning we polished off the leftovers, and then some, after the fryer running for three solid hours! It was the best cure for a hangover ever!
We hung out with our friends all day, never once having to worry about what sorts of shenanagins the kids were getting into. I love them to death, but a curious three year old and a 6 year old with ASD doesn't make for a lot of restful moments. The kids came home yesterday afternoon, showered me with homemade gifts for Mother's Day, and then back to hang with friends and watch the hockey game.
Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for taking the kids. Thank you Steve for hanging out with me all weekend. And thank you Valley for being as awesome as you are...which is truly, remarkably, beyond everything I ever could have imagined.
Asking for help.
It's been way over a month since a decent update around here.
Very unlike me.
I haven't been feeling the writing thing these days, maybe because we've been feeling kicked in the arse by this whole life thing.
We started out strong in April, but somewhere in the middle of Autism Awareness month (ironically) things went down hill.
Griffin seems to be plagued by anxiety, and thoughts of self harm. So much so that it ended us up in Emerg a few weeks ago when I felt like I had nowhere else to turn. My toolbox was empty, I had no idea how to deal with what my six year old was throwing at me, so I waived the white flag and asked for help.
Turns out that was one of the biggest hurdles that we needed to jump...just to ask for that extra bit of help, because it's come flooding in now. It's given me back my belief in the "system" and in the family doctor, and has left me feeling a little more hopeful that we can help this kid, MY kid, who can be so sweet and loving one moment and so terrifying and sad and angry and so much more in just one blink of an eye.
We have two appointments this week on Thursday, which can't come soon enough. Things are SO TENSE around here, and I can't wait for some help to start flowing in. I don't know what the answers are right now, but I know that someone does, and I can't wait to hear from them.
Very unlike me.
I haven't been feeling the writing thing these days, maybe because we've been feeling kicked in the arse by this whole life thing.
We started out strong in April, but somewhere in the middle of Autism Awareness month (ironically) things went down hill.
Griffin seems to be plagued by anxiety, and thoughts of self harm. So much so that it ended us up in Emerg a few weeks ago when I felt like I had nowhere else to turn. My toolbox was empty, I had no idea how to deal with what my six year old was throwing at me, so I waived the white flag and asked for help.
Turns out that was one of the biggest hurdles that we needed to jump...just to ask for that extra bit of help, because it's come flooding in now. It's given me back my belief in the "system" and in the family doctor, and has left me feeling a little more hopeful that we can help this kid, MY kid, who can be so sweet and loving one moment and so terrifying and sad and angry and so much more in just one blink of an eye.
We have two appointments this week on Thursday, which can't come soon enough. Things are SO TENSE around here, and I can't wait for some help to start flowing in. I don't know what the answers are right now, but I know that someone does, and I can't wait to hear from them.
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