Dear everyone,

Stop getting married. Just elope. Its nowhere near as good, but I feel it would be easier on our routine. Thank you.
OK, I wouldn’t really wish that, marriage rocks, and weddings are fun. But I’m still going to be glad when this year’s nuptials are all over with! Only one more to go, but Nic’s in the wedding party. I’ve recently become aware that its a lot more work for a girl to be in a wedding party than a guy. Save for the 1 or 2 days prior to the wedding, and possibly writing a speech, there isn’t a whole lot for a groomsman to do. For brides and bridesmaids, on the other hand…
Anyway, we do have a pretty nice routine now. So nice, in fact, that I’m starting to understand why people don’t travel as much as I think everyone should. Its just really, really comfortable here.
I set my alarm so that I’m downstairs and at work around 7am. Sometimes its 7:15, so I add that on to the end of my day. I spend an hour catching up on e-mail, making my task list for the day, managing my calendars, and reading a few tech blogs to keep up on things, then I take half of my lunch break. I do my devotions, my morning stretches, have a quick breakfast with my family (or at least shove food/coffee in my mouth at roughly the same time as them) and grab a shower, then its back to work for the morning.

At lunch time, I take my remaining half hour to eat with everyone, then take the kids for a walk down to the mailbox. Yesterday we had lunch on the back deck, with the birds chirping, the hot tub burbling, and some mellow music playing over AirTunes.
I work all afternoon, finish out my day, and I’m out from the bat cave by 5:00pm at the latest, unless there’s a late meeting. I never have to worry about how bad the commute will be.
Evenings are usually pretty relaxing. We’re a good two weeks behind on our TV content, which is a good place to be. If we don’t spend our kid-free time sipping something bubbly in the hot tub, we usually watch a show a night, on our own schedule and commercial-free, since everything is downloaded for us automatically and for free/cheap. We’ve had a steady, but not too rapid, flow of visitors out to our place to spend the occasional evening playing board games, or relaxing in the hot tub with us. Neither of us was blessed with the spiritual gift of hospitality — but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy trying!
Wednesday nights are Alpha at the church, and while that’s proven to be more… interesting than we’d anticipated, we get a free meal, free babysitters, and an opportunity for community and challenging discussion. Sunday morning’s church service is a little longer and a little more traditional than what we’re used to, but the people are friendly, and its important to us that our kids grow up with church as a part of normal life. Sunday evenings will have a service a little more geared to our demographic, where the music is better, and there are more people our age to get to know.
I’m finally at the place where I’m starting to look forward to my projects list. Its hard to know where to start, because even though our house is “perfect” there’s still a fair bit I want to do. But I’m not going to push myself so hard that these things become a chore. They’re just supposed to be atomic little challenges to tackle if I get bored (which I’m known to do.)
Money is a little tight at the moment — having a baby, moving to a different country, buying our first house, and doing significant repairs on both vehicles, all in a 6 month span is bound to be a bit challenging. But our cash budget is back in effect, and our non-fixed costs are pretty low, now that we’re both home on weekdays. And small town life is pretty predictable, so its just a matter of waiting it out in the comfort of our home and neighbourhood while things settle down, before we go after some of our other financial goals. (Although, going to weddings does somewhat challenge the budget!)
In short, I’m not really sure how it gets much better than this. Someday we’ll need a slightly bigger place, and it would be nice to consolidate our multiple aging vehicles down to a more comfortable and practical ride. We’ve definitely got some travel goals (Europe ’09, Asia ’11!!) we’ll be working toward. But the fact is, we’re really, and truly blessed and content here. Some of you haven’t visited us yet. You need only to drop us a line and let us know when you’re coming!

3 thoughts on “Dear everyone,

  1. To amend my comment….I agree, being a bridesmaid is a lot more work, from what I can tell and have experienced (last weekend!!). But it’s fun!! Spending time with “the girls” is sometimes just what I need.
    On “some of you haven’t visited us yet…” *embarrassed smile*– that would be Luke and I. GOOD news–I’m moving to Waterloo October 4th, so I will definately come and visit both of you and your adorable children as much as you’ll let me! ๐Ÿ˜€ (You’ll just have to send me your address and phone #!)

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