The Move - 6 months later

We moved to Wheeling, WV, six months ago for my husband's job at Wheeling Jesuit University (a frequent stop for those nasty Westboro Baptist Church creeps due to its proximity to I-70 since WBC is apparently both lazy and bigoted). Our stuff came 6 months ago today. Since then, we have removed carpet, restored hardwood floors, painted only 1 room so far (and that was because the previous color was terrible), put in a furnace and A/C, run new cold water lines, straightened out some electrical issues, put down some laminate, and scraped a lot of paint.

Our kids are growing and are as rambunctious as ever. The boys, IM and A, are at a great local school where they apparently think parents have unlimited time and money, and that's probably true for many, although not-so-much for us. Daughter M is lovely and busy and sweet at 21 months tomorrow. I have not returned to work, although I've had 2 opportunities, because I want to make sure that everyone is settled and happy. The first 2 years of Dr. O's time at Jesuit will be among the busiest because he's writing all new coursework. I also want to finish my MA first so that I can make enough money for my time away from home to be worth the effort.

We managed to find a good church very close to home by the end of the summer and jumped in with both feet, starting a children's ministry to help alleviate our own stress at keeping 3 kids quiet and engaged throughout a eucharistic worship service. I serve as the Children's Chapel teacher, and we pull the kids out of worship during the sermon for about 20-30 minutes. We are blessed to find a congregation that is a good fit and that has just the right amount of activity for this point in our lives.

So what am I doing? I am a full-fledged homemaker trying to get back to my MA program and maintain sanity and sanitation in my home. I spend my time cooking, plenty of cleaning, wasting some time on the computer to feel like I exist outside of my home, spending time with Dr. O' and the kids, and working on my church stuff. I try to get out into the community a bit, although it is difficult to find members of what Kurt Vonnegut would call my "karass", aka other moms who aren't all competitive, who share my values, who aren't big on material stuff, who aren't constantly on their phones, and who love Jesus like I do. It's tough; there are great people here, but they're usually pretty set on friends. I miss my girls in the Village, but I don't miss the Village. It's complicated. I love my life here with the exception of the girlfriends part, but I love being here making a nice life with my family.