Friday, February 1, 2013

Home


I am glad our house is a  little house,
not too tall nor too wide:
I am glad the hovering butterflies
feel free to come inside.
~ from Song for a Little House, by Christopher Morley

(Except, in Texas, it is the crawling tarantulas and scorpions that feel so at home...)


It is good to be home, again. In one short week we have seen most of our dear friends, we have shared meals and whole afternoons.  The suitcases are empty but everything have not found it's place yet, and the laundry is already starting to well up, but I have more peace than I have had in a long time.


And I am not referring to our busy vacation, I am referring to the past four years: the excruciating, unexpected pain of the initial amputation and later, the gnawing feeling that it might have been a wee bit rash to pack up and move so far away.  Struggling with strange flavors, the heat, the cold, missing social cues, sticking out and not fitting in, anywhere. Without any family, and not sure whether or not we had friends.


 But now we know that we are not the only ones.  We are not alone. (At the very least we have our cat.  He is still alive, fat and happy.)  We love our family, our family loves us, and we will remain intact.  We will see them, at greater than regular intervals, but they will be a part of our lives. And we were missed.  And it is so good to come back and be hugged once again.


In about 3 or 4 months we will move away from this little house, and into a bigger house.  In the mean time I planted flowers because I read "The Language of Flowers", and because it helps to keep me focused here. And also because it is so incredibly dreary outside.



I planted Persian Buttercups (Renuculus Asiaticus).  According to my book, they could mean: " You are radiant with charms".  I also planted Lantana, just because they are a weed back home and it amuses me to carefully transplant and water a plant I have known as a weed for most of my life.


Really, it feels like planting dandelions.


I planted some vegetables too: broccoli (haha), cabbage (hahaha) and lettuce. At least broccoli and cabbage are green, and I will eat them, even though no one else will.

Isn't it amazing how lettuce grow when it is cold?  I feel sorry for them every time I water them. Luckily it is not that cold, we had a couple of warm days, actually. (Up to 80 degrees F).  But the last three nights it had been near freezing. I planted the lettuce because I eat lettuce, every day.  I also want to have a reason to go outside, I want the boys to see me work outside, in the garden, growing things that we eventually eat (not that they really eat lettuce either, truth be told).  Hopefully, when we move to our new locating in May, I will have the self discipline to have a big garden, and spend many hours outside with the children tending vegetables they do eat, like cucumber and tomatoes.

Homeschooling is back on track. I devised a new system of 8 "pomedoros" a day, and we are getting to at least 7 of them, regularly.  The twins are learning to write their capital letters, and they know the first 20 sight words (probably by heart).  Suddenly they want to draw and write, and they love doing mazes while the big children work.

And now it is February.  For me, it is really the start of a new year, and the start of our real life in Texas.  I feel settled in, despite knowing we will soon move.  And I think I may love chili with salsa and guacamole as much as I love boerewors...

6 comments:

  1. welcome home emma,

    i cannot begin to imagine how it is to make a move like you have, even though i've traveled the world, moving is different. how i wish you lived near us, we would LOVE to have you and in fact santa barbara is a mini melting pot in a way. but i think you are right where you are supposed to be. i love your garden, and i love that saying: bloom where you are planted.
    i think i need to order that book, i've heard so much about it.
    sending hugs and love, lori

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    1. Thanks Lori - I think I am where I should be, too. Although, sometimes I wish I was supposed to be somewhere obviously gorgeous... Santa Barbara would have worked :)
      It was good to visit, and it is good to be home - we are truly blessed. I can recommend the book without reservations, it prompted me again to "not forget to look at what is beautiful"...

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  2. Het ook "The language of flowers" gelees, maar niks geplant nie. Bly julle is veilig en rustig tuis.

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    1. Maar jy het 'n klein babatjie, so jy is besig. Ek het intussen nog blomme geplant - daisies, snapdragons en dianthus. Dis tyd dat ons weer 'n baba kry...

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  3. Dana Snyman in een van sy vertellings: "jy moet heeltemal wees waar jy is". Dit is goed vir ons om te weet dit is goed vir julle om tuis te wees. Patrys lyk soos familie van Berlioz, hy is 'n mooi kat en ons Cleo gaan kleintjies kry...

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  4. So glad to hear you arrived home safely and well! I have not been around blogging much lately but I will catch up with you journey right now. I love what you wrote about planting and home, thank you so much for charing! Gesche

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