Things I've Learned While Moving

This whole moving experience has been....well, I'm not quite sure how to describe it. There's many adjectives: exciting, scary, frustrating, heart-stopping, nerve-wracking, adventurous, lonesome.
I've learned a lot from moving.
-Temporary housing really, really, REALLY makes you appreciate your house all the more.
- The kids rooms need to be unpacked first. Thank you, Grandma & Grandpa, for helping with this. Made the kids feel more at home. C just lays in her bed for a few minutes every day after school saying "my room, my room, I love my room."
- It is disconcerting to be in a new place. Everything has to be done again. And, there's not really anyone else to ask about stuff.
- Seeing your kids suffer from anxiety about meeting new people makes your heart break for them.
- It is extremely tempting to just give in and have a big ol' pity party for yourself about whatever situation you find yourself in.

But mostly, what I learned during this move can be summed up in one word....intentional.

I have to be intentional about asking for help. Oh boy, for a person who hates to do this, what a big, fat lesson this was for me. I'm sure this is one that will keep coming up for me but I'm trying to embrace the idea that I can rely on someone else.

I have to be intentional about making friends. Surprisingly, they don't just come up and say "Hi! My name is ____________. What's yours? Do you want to play?" So much easier when I was 3 years old.
However, I did drum up the courage and ask a woman I met if she wanted to meet for coffee and she agreed. I felt very good about it and had a whole new empathy for S asking someone over to play. Course, I did my asking through the annonimity of the internet, but I did it. And I know I need to keep doing this even if it makes me uncomfortable.

I have to be intentional about making our new church feel like our church home. This means getting involved even though I don't know all the ins and outs and politics. I just hope I don't put my foot in my mouth too far. Guess that's where that thing called Grace comes in.  :)

I have to be intentional about helping my kids make friends. That means having playdates even though the house is still not unpacked. I figure that if the kids come over now, some day, when things are put away, they might even notice the difference! And, it is incentive for me to make this house our home.

So, my word for the rest of this year...intentional.  A tough lesson for me to learn but I'm working on it.