C and D

C and D

Friday, December 16, 2011

"You have a good life........."

Paul said to me yesterday morning before he left for work. He was asking what Declan and I were off to do that day and I told him we were meeting Emily and Carl at the beach for the morning and then we were gonna grab lunch with them. Thus prompting him to say, "boy, you have a really good life don't you" :) And he's right. I do. WE do.

I think I'm finallllllly warming up to living in South Carolina. I miss Colorado and all that it entails but first and foremost, the fact that we are so close to our families pretty much trumps the rest. I'll always miss CO and I think I will ALWAYS think of that as an almost perfect place to live, but seeing as we can pack up a car and be to my parents in 3.5 hrs or the Hogan/Henson clan in 7 has been truly wonderful. I've said it a million times but I love that Decky and his little bro will actually grow up around our families. Not just the once or twice a year visit. It means everything to Paul and I that he knows his grandparents, his aunt and uncles, his cousins etc etc etc.

So anyhow, back to SC and the MB :) It also helps that we have met some great people along the way and are really starting to form relationships. Paul has some awesome people at work that he likes at the office and OUTSIDE of the office and Declan and I have met some wonderful, super sweet moms/grandmas/nannies with very cool kids. It was very hard when we first got here and really, up until probably a month or two ago. We were pretty isolated and as much as I would try to take Decky to the park or the library or other mommy/child activities, I just didn't have the balls to really ask anyone out on the "playdate" - its HARD! Or at least for me it was........do you ask for their number? Do you just give them your number? What if they don't want to hang out with you? Who do you really trust to be around your kid? Its a fairly awkward dynamic and you have to be so so so proactive in making friends at this age and stage of life and this is really the first time I'm experiencing it. And I'm not very good at it....unfortunately. Not nearly as extroverted as I might have originally considered myself.....

So, with all that said, its not like college where you have a big group of friends that all hang out all the time, our "groups" are kind of all over the board. We have a couple friends from work, a couple from the library, a couple randos and they don't necessarily all mix and mingle. But that's ok. It gives us something to do most days of the week :) One day we'll meet up with Levi and his crew, the next we'll meet up with Em and Carl, the next we'll go to a big group playdate etc etc etc. Its been really nice and I love EVERYONE we have started to bond with. And so does Decky. He especially loves the moms and grandmas :) I don't know what the says or means about him but its really cute and he goes around saying "Millie" and "Nonna" all day long asking for Emily and Norma.

The other part to making the turn here I think has been the tourist reduction :) Summer here was CRAZY. INSANE. NOT VERY FUN. :) At least I didn't think so...the beaches were ridiculously crowded, the roads were jammed, restaurants out of control etc etc etc, you get the jist. Now that's its kind of back to normal, the weather has cooled, this place is really nice. Its a smaller town. People are great and very down to earth. Lots to do, all the time. There's always a festival or park to go to and obviously you have the beach 15 minutes away which never disappoints. Being near the water just makes me happy. Someone once told me that "salt water heals everything" and I believe that. Skinned up knees or aching hearts - its always helped me.

So yes, we do have a good life. I'm learning more and more that life is a million bazillion percent how you respond to what happens to you, not necessarily what actually happens. You can either make or break your situation and we're trying to make it. Hopefully we are on our way..........