Change Can Be a Good Thing! (#ReinventYourself #bh #ad)

If you’ve been reading me for a while, you’ll know that the last couple of years have been a whirlwind of crazy changes.

First, we had the privilege of fostering and then adopting this little cutie-patootie:

I’m not gonna lie and say that it hasn’t been a challenge – from having to deal with (and subsequently cutting off all contact with) his drug addict bio-mom, to his preliminary diagnosis of ADHD.

But the good days definitely outweigh the bad.

I’m happy that Princess Nagger will get to grow up with a sibling, since she was my miracle baby who came along after years of infertility and numerous miscarriages.

Though if you asked her on certain days, she’d wish she was still the one and only.

Once again, the good days definitely outweigh the bad.

An even bigger change was deciding, after 16 years of being a resident in Pennsylvania, that it was time to return to where I was born and raised, Washington State.

We had moved to PA to be near the hubby’s father during his final years (he passed a couple of years ago). Now it is time to be near my parents to spend some quality time with them during their golden years.

I must say I don’t miss the sweltering summer heat that included cloying humidity, but I do miss our awesome farmhouse we called home for 11 years. It has a very unique character since it was built in 1817:

After arriving back here in the great Pacific Northwest, my parents were very gracious by letting our family inhabit their basement while we got our bearings and looked for a house to buy.

Being Basement Dwellers was not on our list of ‘most favorite’ things, but we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to focus on getting settled in the area while the hubby was looking for a new job.

We were fortunate that he was able to secure a college professorship at a school very similar to one he’d been teaching at for over 13 years. All of these changes were a lot more manageable as we watched our ducks line up neatly in a row.

Once his employment status was secure we were able to start actively looking at houses to get our family settled. We finally found the perfect house:

It was going to be an adjustment. It was a big change for us to living in a much more ‘modern’ house compared to our old one. This however, was a change I was definitely looking forward to.

Not to mention, the kids were excited about the amazing backyard with the play set that was included with the house:

With the purchase of our new house, we were finally able to start settling in after being Basement Dwellers for five months. When you’re a grown-up it’s hard to live in your parents’ house for a week or two, let alone five months!

Especially considering my dad is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. On his bad days I was suddenly a teenager again.

Not that I wouldn’t mind being mistaken for a teenager once in a while, but you know what I mean.

With the final move into our new house, even more changes occurred in that we decided to leave Little Dude at the school in my parents’ school district. He was thriving under the vigilance of his Kindergarten teacher. We transferred Princess Nagger (at her request) into our new school district.

Talk about adjustments – I had to adjust to a totally new schedule driving the kids to and from school. Since Little Dude’s school is 34 minutes away (without traffic), that means I spend an inordinate amount of time in my car – a far cry from just hanging out on the front porch waiting for the bus each day.

But it’s worth it – it’s been amazing seeing him flourish under the tutelage of his teacher. Next year he and Princess Nagger will be at the same school, so the drive for this school year is a small price to pay to see him thrive.

Change can be a good thing!

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