This Year

This morning on the way home from taking Sophie to school, I made a call to a fellow mom about having her daughter over for Sophie’s birthday party next week. I left a message and after hanging up, I turned my attention back to the radio where they were doing a weather report. The weatherman commented on the nice weather yesterday and how cold and windy it will be this week. “This weekend wasn’t at all like last year, when it was bitter and icy and VERY cold. We’ve been better off this year so far.”

Ah, yes, last year. It was cold and nasty, right after Thanksgiving. The house fell the day before Thanksgiving and we quickly ordered a house plan, thinking maybe we could still get started right away before the weather turned. But it turned quickly, and even the weather Thanksgiving weekend was a bad omen for any possibility of getting things moving. I remember December being bitter and icy and so it was clear – long before Christmas – that there would be a lot of waiting before we could start on a new plan.

But I also remember that we had our holidays. I remember eating Thanksgiving dinner and decorating the tree with my girls. I remember celebrating Sophie’s birthday just weeks after the house fell. Little girls came over and we had Sophie’s first ‘friend’ party, with Tinkerbell decorations everywhere, baby dolls, and a very happy birthday girl. I remember lots of smiles and laughter and the weather being so bad at Christmas that we just went on to Mom and Dad’s Christmas Eve so that we would be there already while the ice and snow continued to build. Brad got a Wii gaming system so we played games and ate yummy food.

Brad and I were confused and sad. Rarely one willing to wait on anything, I was forced to find peace in patience. This process still continues, but this summer I honestly found a contentment that I’m not sure I have ever experienced. Hope started to build as the year wore on and, though slow, our new plan started to take shape.

Last year my Thanksgiving was all about being thankful that my husband, his brother, and his father were not hurt in the midst of our disaster. I still praise God for that gift, but this year I also thanked God for perseverance and growth of our family and marriage as a direct result of our slight disaster.

Life goes on. Our catastrophe is minor compared to many, but it was still devastating at the time. I understand better, now, than ever before, that everything really is going to be fine. Life brings new opportunities and new plans that you never would have thought of left to your own devices.

I am not in charge here, and that is ok.

But that is a lesson I’ll have to learn over and over, I have no doubt.

Today after I heard the weather report and did a little reminiscing, I called my husband. They are working on our house this morning. The floor system has arrived, and they are prepping to add that. Slow, but steady, the work continues. We will someday have a house. Meanwhile, we will celebrate Sophie’s birthday. We will buy Christmas presents, and we will go to Christmas parties. Our girls will get to see their Dad build our house, and it will be ours. They will appreciate the work and patience that goes into something that is your own. And we will all keep learning.