Thankful Tuesday: Pre-Move Moving Weekend

We did it.

The movers showed up Friday morning and took all our possessions away to some secret lair in California, where our things will sit until November. Our selves, our cat and our suitcases all showed up Friday afternoon at the temporary house (what I’ve taken to calling our “fake house”). And after one long Friday night (the cat and the oldest boy had trouble sleeping), everyone seemed to adjust pretty quickly.

Besides a jaw that won’t stop clenching and some stress-induced chin acne, I think I’m adjusting as well. No major mama-tear-fests yet either.

It helps that our weekend was full in the best way. Here is the play by play of all the Pre-Move Moving Weekend Thankfuls

• Introducing my UT sophomore small group girls to their new leader, who is going to be the very best. So grateful to feel hopeful and excited about her and their future as a little community.
• Movers who were kind and funny and happy to engage with us.
• Our dear next-door neighbors (who we will really miss) who played with my kids at the park Friday morning while the movers took over the house.
• Caroline, who is the greatest babysitter and whose generosity to us knows no bounds.
• How saying goodbye to a place is both heart breaking and healing. I’m grateful that when we leave a space, it’s empty and not itself without us. Does that make sense? Even though someone else will move in, it’s not our house anymore because our presence made it what it was to us. I may not be explaining this very well. I’ll have to ruminate on it awhile and get back to you.

• The distraction of a new, empty house to run around in. (It also helps that there’s hardly any furniture or toys to bang into while running. It also echoes a lot. Should I be thankful for that?)
• The sweetness of having August’s favorite next door neighbor (from the old house, as opposed the fake one), Ashlyn, over for an all-afternoon play-date on Saturday. August asked me a couple of weeks ago if she can be his wife when he grows up. He will be sad to leave her.
• My husband modeling to my son how to be generous to friends. On Saturday morning, he took August to pick out a present for Ashlyn…something she can remember him by. He picked a shark. Obviously.
• The goodness of seeing a woman from church pull up in my (fake house) driveway Saturday afternoon with a carpet for the boys to play on in the empty, titled living area and a push toy for my baby.
• Another friend arriving with blocks and trains. Such a gift for my boys who have one bin of toys to last them the month.
• The chance to share a little of my journey with prayer with my kindred friend and college roommate Jamie’s Sunday School class this past Sunday.
• A party at Jamie’s house with her parents and grandparents and our kids and Michele, our roomie from college and her sister. And the best fried chicken OF ALL TIME. And a sweet mini-roomie reunion over espresso shakes (Yes, I convinced them to partake) at one of my favorite spots in Austin.  (One of the greatest parts of being in Austin this year has been the gift of reconnecting with friends from college I’ve so rarely seen since I moved away ten years ago. I savored every moment Sunday night.)
• A Sunday afternoon nap AND a Monday afternoon nap! Yes, the world is sometimes kind to tired mamas.
• Labor Day on a weekend where we desperately needed an extra day off.
• A friend’s birthday party Monday morning in which August got to experience the bliss of piñata bashing and candy feasting.
• Brunch with our friends Ray and Danielle who were in town from New York this weekend for a wedding.
• Fajitas with our Canadian-transplant friends here in Austin. Laughing and watching our kids run and blessing the evening together.

It’s been a while since we’ve been thankful together, friends. I want to know: How about you? What are you thankful for? Tell us in the comments or link your own Thankful Tuesday post up there. I hope your Labor Day (if you had one) was restful and full of grace.