by Cynthia on May 17, 2013
I never meant for the long delay since my last blog post. Life has been very full and very crazy this past month or two. I know in my last post I hinted at some sort of change coming my way. I really wanted to write a follow up post to that but each day slipped by me and I never got to it. So, here I sit today finally getting around to that follow up post. I have rewritten this post over and over in my head for what must be a million times now so I do hope I can make it come out right as I type.
Life can be strange sometimes. A year or so ago I never imagined I would be facing this huge change that me and my family are about to venture forth with. Life can sure throw you some curve balls when you least expect them. Just when I thought life might be starting to flow into a steady rhythm for us one curve ball after another was tossed our way. Then in January we were hit with one last blow and suddenly it became very clear we were headed for some serious change. It is surreal to me because in some respects it feels like we have been traveling towards this direction all along but I just never knew it till now.
I need to backtrack quite a way back for a minute in order for you to fully understand exactly what I mean. So hang in there while I touch on a bit of my family’s history. On both sides of my family my roots can be traced back to the Midwest. On my mother’s side a very large part of my family tree branches out from the Kansas City area. When my mother was just a toddler my grandparents moved from the Kansas City area, with my mother in tow, to Orange County, California. This was back when Orange County still had orange groves growing all around- quite different from the Orange County today. Eventually my grandmother’s parents also moved to Southern California. So, I grew up surrounded by a large number of family members in Southern California. But as I reached my teen years slowly my family began to move all over the country. This was really hard on me as I have always been one to love my family being close by.
As the years continued to pass we became more and more scattered as a family. Literally we were all scattered across the country. Some of us (like me) remained on the West Coast even though no longer in Southern California while others resided way on the other side of the country on the East Coast.
The interesting thing is recently over the past couple of years one by one my family members are returning to the Midwest. Last year it was my mom’s turn to return to her family’s roots when she took the plunge and moved over 1800 miles to return to Kansas City. It was a strange feeling for me knowing that most of my family is back together like it once was when I was a child. And yet here I was in the Pacific Northwest nowhere near any family members now. (My mom had spent the past several years living close by in Oregon before she returned to the Kansas City area.)
Then this year a series of unpleasant events rocked my (not so) little family here in Washington. As each earthquake like event rumbled through my family I began to realize it might now be my family’s turn to go back to where our history begins.
And so, in a round and about way, that brings us to today, the middle of May. In just a little over two short weeks we will be packing our belongings into a moving truck and driving halfway across the country to our new home in the Kansas City area. We are both excited and sad all at the same time. It is going to be so hard to leave this beautiful area that we have come to love. Never in my life have I seen as much beauty as that found here in the Pacific Northwest. In the eight years that we have lived here I have learned so much and met so many interesting people. All of this will be so greatly missed but I know in my heart it is time to move on. Life does seem to have a plan and for once I am trying not to fight it.
I do not know what will unfold in this next chapter of my life. I am sorry to see this one end but very excited to see what lies ahead as this new chapter is written. I am sure it will be quite different from what this current one held and that both frightens and thrills me all at once. It is so true when they say “home is where the heart is” and right now home for us is with family in the Heartland of our country.
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Pictures in today’s post are from my Instagram feed from over the past several weeks. I may not have been blogging much these past few months but I have been regularly posting pictures to Instagram. I am completely hooked on it at the moment and if you are too please be sure to let me know so I can connect with you there. I intend to post pictures there as we continue on with our BIG move.
by Cynthia on April 10, 2013
Anymore these days just feel like one giant whirlwind spinning around and sucking me into it. I feel like I just blink and a week has passed. For instance, last week was Spring Break for my middle schooler and now here I find him back at school this week like he was never home. When he is home for more than the weekend I miss the days when he was still homeschooled. It makes me second guess my decision to let him enter the public school last year.
We took advantage of him being home last week and took off for Seaside, Oregon. There are times when I get the most strongest craving to see the ocean. I’m sure it has to do with the fact that I grew up just minutes from the beach in Southern California. The salty air combined with sandy feet have never really left me. Upon arriving at Seaside I immediately felt at home. It was an almost soul cleansing visit. I needed to see the ocean and hear the waves crash upon the shore.
This past year or so has been so incredibly challenging. I sometimes sit in disbelieve and dismay that so much has and is happening. My life is rapidly changing and taking directions I never in my wildest dreams could have foreseen. Some of it is good, some of it is gut wrenching. I realize I am being rather vague and that has to do a lot with the fact that I am just now trying to find the words to sort out what is happening to myself and my family. I’m also not sure how much I really want to share here on this blog. I am and have always been a rather timid and very private person. Opening up about myself to others has always been tremendously painful for me. Yet here I am blogging away and hinting at a major life change that is heading our way.
In a way, I feel like my life at this moment is like that ocean I just paid a visit to. There is a force out there bringing in a huge wave of change that I cannot stop. And deep in my heart I know when that wave subsides what was once left of my current life will be washed away by the water retreating to the sea. Like a sandcastle being gently washed away and the sandy shore left bare. Bare, but like an empty canvas ready to be recreated all over again.
by Cynthia on March 12, 2013
Joining Ginny for this week’s Yarn Along.
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My goodness how the last week sure flew on by me! I’m so busy catching up that I never got another post published after my last Yarn Along. March is going crazy fast for me right now. I need it to slow down a little. We’ve got lots of birthdays in March including little Gabriel’s at the end of the month. Lots to get ready for!
I just finished Gabriel’s Milo vest yesterday while he napped. When he got up I was so excited to show it to him and have him try it on. Then, wouldn’t you know, the little guy decided to be a stinker and refused to try it on. Crushed my heart. I’m sure he will wear it in a few days– if I don’t make a big deal of it. He probably knew I’d chase after him with my camera if he put it on!
I’ve been steadily knitting away at my Weekend Shawl. Only three more rows to go then I begin the second (and final) lace chart. I can’t wait to finish this one and get it blocked. I’m loving it so much right now. My goal is to be done by the end of the week. It is destined to be a gift and the deadline is rapidly approaching!
My fiction reading is still slow going. I can never seem to tear myself from the nonfiction books. I recently received a copy of The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton through Paperback Swap and I’m hoping I can start it this week. I have read mixed reviews on it. Has anyone else read it? Would you give it a thumbs up or down?
I look forward to reading all of your Yarn Along posts. Hopefully it will not take me another week before I blog again!
by Cynthia on March 5, 2013
Joining Ginny again this week for the weekly Yarn Along.
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My how the last week sure flew on by me! I published my Yarn Along post last Wednesday morning, looked at a few other Yarn Along posts and then as the morning progressed I slowly succumbed to the nasty bug that claimed everyone in my home last week. Thanks to being so sick I did not accomplish even half of what I wanted to do on my knitting. And reading didn’t really happen either as I was just too tired to focus.
I did work here and there on my Weekend Shawl though because I have yet to reach the lace part in the pattern so knitting was still rather mindless. I am loving the shape of this shawl. I don’t know if you can see it in the photo or not but it is not your typical triangle shaped shawl. As the pattern states the shawl is more like a three-quarter circle. I really like how it is going to naturally drape over the shoulders. About another 10 rows to go and then I get to begin the lace!
Last week I revisited one of my all time favorite books on herbs, An Encyclopedia of Natural Healing for Children and Infants by Mary Bove. This book is so well loved. It is dog-eared, stained, and full of notes. I have owned it for well over 10 years and still refer to it today. I pulled it off the shelf last week when my youngest two babes were feeling the effects of that horrible virus. Fever, cough, congestion. Noted in the book I have written down how well my oldest son responds to mullein leaves, thyme and anise seeds during bouts of cough with congestion. This little note-to-self proved to be helpful in preparing a tea that soothed Ariella’s cough on her worst day.
I hope to return to the fiction book I started last week now that we are all feeling better. It feels good to get back to normal! I hope you are all feeling well and I look forward to seeing what you are reading and working on this week.
