7 Hectic Little Things

So, we made a huge life decision recently, and it changed everything pretty quickly.  Honestly, it suits us to make a huge decisions on a whim.  I love the spontaneity of this particular adventure, and it mirrors other decisions we made together - decisions liked getting married, taking vacations, or quitting jobs.  Perhaps we're starting to establish a pattern.  Perhaps God created us both to need a new adventure from time to time because He knew that we one day be involved in ministry, and our life may never be stable or permanently settled.  We will experience one adventure after another, and it's amazing to think about how perfectly a lifestyle I was terrified of really fits us and our personalities.  Mr. Robinson and I were both starting to feel a little restless here, and thought buying a home might be the answer.  We contacted a Real Estate Agent and looked at several homes, but nothing seemed to fit.  Moving to Charlotte for Mr. Robinson to attend seminary fits.  We're moving in less than a month and while we couldn't be more excited to start this new adventure, a big move like this brings lots of other emotions to the surface, as well.  We have so much to do in a short period of time, and we're trying to get everything accomplish while cramming as much life into these next few weeks as possible.  Both of us want to savor our last month in this place we love and spend borderline excessive amounts of time with people we'll be sad to leave.  Needless to say, our life is hectic right now due to several little things.           

  Little Thing #1

The air conditioner units in our house broke over the weekend - both the downstairs and upstairs units.  We were going to try and make do, but when the ceiling fan in our bedroom stopped working we went to stay with my parents at their river house.  This meant that we weren't able to pack or work at the house for two days, which is frustrating when our to-do list seems miles long.  However, it worked out great because we were able to spend some extra time with them.  Mr. Robinson played PS3 and jumped in the river, so he was happy.  I loved having morning coffee with my parents on their front porch, as it reminds me of the summer before our wedding.  I lived with my parents for a few months, and every morning we had coffee together by the river.  It was fun to step back in time like that, so we didn't really mind that our air conditioner was broken for a few days.  :)
Little Thing #2

Every night this week, my mom & I are teaching the 2 and 3 year old VBS class at church, and VBS starts at 6.  I work until 5, so I get next to NO down time, which tends to make me a little grumpy.  Saturday, we'll take VBS to the projects in town and cram it all into one day.  Did I mention that I'm just not a kid person?  Being around children just causes me stress, and VBS reaffirmed that God didn't give me the talents required to teach or work with children.  Meanwhile, Mr. Robinson has been getting some work done around the house, but he is sort of at a loss for what to do without me there to help.  He's not one that's able to look at a situation and determine on his own what needs to be done, and I'm too busy this week to really work on packing or cleaning... so not much is getting done.  I come home at 9:00 at night exhausted and utterly frazzled, and this week is just dragging by.
Little Thing #3
Next week, my husband is going to Atlanta with my dad and some guys from church.  They're going to see a baseball game and will be gone for two days.  These plans have been in the works for while, and I'm glad my husband and my daddy will get to spend some quality time together before we leave.  It warms my heart to see the two of them loving each other.  I just hope Mr. Robinson doesn't spend too much money while he's away, haha!  The upside is that my husband will be gone for one full night, and I'll hopefully get a chance to get a lot of work done at the house!  :)  But I'll miss him terribly... 
Little Thing #4

Since Daddy is going to Atlanta, my last day working with him will be July 17th...next Tuesday.  That makes me sad.  Even thought we don't spend quality time together at work or engage in long, meaningful conversations daily...I do get to see my Daddy every day.  I'll miss working with him...I'll miss just knowing he is always in the next room.  My last day of work is July 19th, which is a Thursday.  Thursday's are the one day a week my mom comes to work to help with payroll, and I go out to the lunch with her and my dad.  It's our special, weekly date and I'll miss it terribly.  I love chatting with them about what's going on in life, at church, or at work.  I love the added face time we get by just having lunch together.  Sometimes my sister comes with us, and it's just...it's like the old days.  Not to mention that my dad's parents live right across the street and are always in and out of the office.  Being at work means being surrounded by family...and leaving my job means leaving all of that.  It means leaving the life I'd always planned on having.  It's hard to pretend like all of this doesn't hurt my heart ... but it's a little easier if I just don't think about it.    
Little Thing #5
We leave for Mexico on July 21st, and return home on July 28th.  I've vacationed in Mexico several times, and it's probably my favorite place in the world thus far.  I love the culture, the weather, the scenery, and especially the authentic food.  Not to mention that it's a full week to spend not working & with my husband + my parents + my sister (and her friend).  I'm SO excited to travel... but, it's another 7 days we won't be home packing.   
Little Thing #6

  Speaking of packing... we have a lot of packing to do, in case I haven't mentioned that minor detail.  When I say we have lots of packing to do, I mean that we currently live in a huge house and we're moving into an apartment (pictured above) that could almost fit inside our back porch.  We have to sort, downsize, and pack and we have a million "little things" going on right now that are taking up our time.    
Little Thing #7
Mr. Robinson's first day of school is July 30th, and he'll have to go stay with a host family until we can move into our apartment on August 2nd.  I'll stay behind and work on washing clothes and finished up packing, before taking a car load of things up to Charlotte on the 2nd.  We'll sign the lease, and then move all the big furniture stuff over the weekend.
Busy, Busy, Busy. 
And I just want to soak up every little moment until we have to leave.  I want to appreciate everything about this place - I want to smell the grass the men are cutting outside; I want to notice the smile lines on my grandma's face; I want to know drag my fingers through the dust on my daddy's desk; I want to feel the sounds of a truck backing into the loading dock; I want to smile at every stranger who waves to me; I want to burn the images of every field of corn and tobacco into my brain; I just want to be here before I can't anymore.  

I've left here before, obviously.  I haven't only lived in this tiny little corner of the world, but the circumstances under which I moved were different.  Last time I left "home" it was because I didn't want to be here anymore.  But "the plan" was to be here for the rest of our lives ... and we could do that and be perfectly happy.  But God has a plan for us better than anything we could ever imagine - and we want to experience it.  We want to be obedient.  
Anyway...I'm sure you can sort of see what life is like for us right now.  It's hectic and there are so many different emotions.  We are excited about the move and about our new adventure.  Thanks to everyone who has offered us love & support during this hectic little time.  :)  I hope to get back to blogging regularly soon!

My Ugly Cry Face

Last night, my husband left me.  

Well, kind of.  He had to go upstate for training and since the drive took over 3 hours, the company he works for put him in a hotel for the night.  He'll have to do this several times this month, but to be honest ... I was kind of looking forward to him leaving and giving me some alone time.  Before he quit his job, I was accustomed to him leaving for work before me and coming home after me.  I got boo-koodles of alone time.  With his new job, that alone time has hit the pavement and he's there when I leave and he's there when I come home, with few exceptions.  I was missing my alone time, and was looking forward to catching up on it while he's away at training!  He'll be spending several nights away from home this month and I was excited.  

Until it was time for him to leave.

I was sobbing...clutching to him as we laid on the floor.  I have an ugly cry face.  He said he was flattered.

My face was all red, my nose was all swollen, and I had snot coming out of my nose.  Quite unflattering, yet he felt flattered.  After he left, Zombie did something cute and I calmed down.  

Then, we snuggled and watched The Backup Plan for the first time.  It was SO good!  Except that I was already emotional for my husband leaving for the night, so I cried over a romantic comedy...like a baby.  And then I realized that I still miss him when he's gone.  I really didn't want him to leave and I really didn't need the alone time I so desperately missed.  I love him!  This month will be full of changes for us, and I hope that watching him leave for work gets easier.  But then, I kind of don't.  I hope I never become numb or immune to missing the man God created with me in mind.  I love being with him and even though we drive each other crazy sometimes, at the end of the day I want to be with him.  

And when that's not possible, I make an ugly cry face.