Generally it's enjoyable to "purge" the house of crap you don't need. Being more organized makes things run more smoothly and after six years of clutter build up, I was clearly not as organized as I could have been. How does this stuff stick around?
It has now been nearly a month of sorting through nostalgia. My kids were babies when we arrived here. The bits and pieces that I held on to has brought their growth into sharp focus. They learned so much in this house! It is as if six years of sand in my hourglass just sifted right through my fingers. This time was never taken for granted, yet it still flew by too fast.
Now with self reflection I am desperate to know if I have laid enough of a foundation. The upcoming changes will no doubt cause us all stress. I wish that there was some sort of pre-move assessment I could administer to know if there's any bit I've missed as a parent. There is no crystal ball, however and we just have to hope. Hope that they are confident to handle new challenges. Hope that they embrace Louisiana with a positive attitude. Hope that they communicate their fears with us. Hope that they make new friends quickly. Hope that our unit is strong enough to hold each other up through anything that may pop up in front of us. Hope that they stay in touch with those we must leave behind.
The next step on my checklist is holding a moving sale and many of these pieces of nostalgia will grace the home of some new family. The "hoed" belongings await milder weather in our guest room. We'll eventually watch the past drift out of our garage and hopefully bring some cash in so that we may begin anew in the bayou. The next time we do this, one of the kids will be a teenager! My stomach turns at the thought, but it will happen whether we want it to or not. So in the spirit of hope, I'll make a plan for what is to be taught in the "unicorn".
Resilience is a continued lesson for the entire family. We will strengthen the foundation we've poured. The continued lessons will be laundry, kitchen skills, kindness, fitness, organization, time management, gratitude, and appreciation of all we've been given. It's odd to categorize the lessons of parenting and I'm certain this list leaves out many we've tried to teach.
Without the glimpse into their future, there's no way to be certain that they've internalized all that they need for a happy, future life. The lessons will no doubt get tougher as they get older, but we aren't about to quit. We'll build great new memories! Hopefully in the next place, we'll just keep the memories a little more organized, so the "hoe out" won't take a whole month.
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