My husband gave me some pots and pans a few years ago. These weren't just any pots and pans: they were the All-Clad stainless steel that I had dreamed about having. I had researched the best cookware, and it came down to All-Clad (although I'm also partial to Le Creuset.) I did not expect to actually get the pots and pans, since they were expensive and all, but my husband does good by me. The point is, after he gave me these fabulous, amazing, beautiful, useful objects, I carefully put them away and didn't use them. I wanted to keep them new for a while. Finally, this year, I have started using them on a regular basis.
This week, we are leaving Illinois permanently. We will rent our house and eventually sell it, but for the next nine years, we are at the mercy of the military. But the thing is, I am not finished yet. I am not finished being part of the family that we have gained here. I feel like I have just finally gotten to the point where I'm ready to use my shiny new friends, and now I'm leaving them behind.
Getting the Olmsted scholarship and living abroad with our family has always been our dream. Dreams are very comfortable when they stay where they belong, up in la-la land, but when you actually get your dream? That's when things get difficult. You have get out of your comfort zone (but I just barely got here!) and let go of some of your other dreams (like eating the hanging tomatoes you planted, or planting trees, or being there when someone you love has their long-awaited baby.)
So, this crazy thing our family is doing? It is absolutely the right thing to do. But I will leave a piece of my heart here in this area. Fortunately, we live in the information age with such wonders as the Inter Net and the World Wide Web, so I can continue to keep up on people's happenings through their blogs. Unfortunately (?), I have again become friends of the non-gossip variety, so I may not get all of the news. Fortunately, that's not any different than the present.
This week I was worked into the ground by a nonagenarian. She arrived ready to work looking very trim and lovely in her casual outfit with lipstick and her face all made up. She never broke a sweat or got a hair out of place, and she exhausted me. Extraordinary.
