Tag Archives: New England

Falling Back to Thankfulness

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Used With Permission

 

We are about to “Fall Back” tonight. Sadly.  Sweetman’s thoughts on this sum up mine perfectly: “How depressing. That means I’ll be coming home from work in the dark for the next 5 months.”  For crying out loud! Why do we still do this “time change” thing, again?

 

But, in my effort to remind myself of all that there is to be thankful for this month, I’m going to try to focus on the good in this.  There is good in this.  I’m gonna mine deep, people.

 

Bedtime comes earlier.  And at this stage of parenthood, I am beyond thankful for that. Do I really need to elaborate?  I think not.

 

With Fall comes all things pumpkin.  And I am so stinkin’ thankful that God created the pumpkin. Without it, I wouldn’t have my beloved pumpkin coffee, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin pie; to name a few.

 

God endowed me with a strong “homebody” gene.  In case you didn’t know this about me, I like to be at home folks; the extroverted introvert that I am.  Dichotomy though it may be, ’tis true. My Southern roots betray me on more than eleventy occasions up here, in New England.  I like to just sit a spell and visit with people. Once we Fall Back, people are outside less and inside more.  Now, to those of your dear souls who love the great outdoors and the fresh air and all that jazz, this may seem like a mini-death sentence.  Not so for me.  Oh, no indeed.  This just means that I can visit people more often.  At their homes.  Because they are home.  Not out and about.  We can sit a spell.  See how nicely that works?  And, I’m so thankful for that.

 

I feel better already.  Off to make some pumpkin muffins and then sit a spell with some neighbors. Yes indeedy, because that’s what us southern transplanted New Englander’s do, y’all.

Fish Out Of Water (And Breathing Just Fine)

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Moving to New England was a brave endeavor for a Floridian. Yes indeedy! Especially given that the pace of life is vastly different.  It’s FAST.  And I don’t mean, road-rage if you don’t keep out of the left lane, kind of fast.  I mean busy, busy, busy, kind-of-fast.  And I like it like that.  In South Florida, things move at a much slower pace. (Mostly because it’s 85 degrees in the shade.  In the dead of winter!)

With age comes wisdom. (I know, right? Even for me!)  I now see the folly in moving so far away from the people who have to help you in times of crisis simply because they share the same blood lines, (family is great that way, isn’t it?). Moving practically across the pond, as The Nana would have you know,  makes it awfully hard to find help and support.  Basically, I am the epitome of ‘Miss Independence’ because I have to be.  I’ve learned the necessity of a well-developed network.  Neighbors become lifelines, as do friends, when you need to race a dog to the ER because she’s ingested 5 red grapes and needs to have her stomach pumped immediately just to survive.  Just, you  know, for example…

And so it is that I get by with a little help from my friends. And neighbors. And church family. And, truth be told, I’ve done more than get by; I’ve thrived!  You could even say, this fish out of water is breathing just fine! Yes indeedy!