Gaining Emotion

I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow!  OK, that may be the overstatement of the century, but for the first time in a long time I have found something to really be excited about.  Sorry if that sounds totally awful!  I'm a happy person and I love my life, ask anyone close to me. I think most my age can relate to feeling of being on autopilot for years. For us, (hubby and I) we have worked so hard for the past 20 years to make sure we and our children have had everything from the basics (food on the table and roof over our head) to our family vacations to Disney, 2 Caribbean Cruises, condos on the beach and luxury camps in the Adirondacks.  9 years ago we traded our modest 3 bedroom raised ranch in an outlying town for a 2600 square foot colonial in a "desired neighborhood".

I wouldn't' have traded one second and I certainly have no regrets. I relish the memories of my children taking their first steps, their first cries even. We anxiously awaited for their next steps in life...soft food, pear juice, then apple juice...then no more bottles, on to sippy cups and potty training...The graduation from cribs to big girl and big boy beds, Mackenzie sleeping on our floor when she was 2, and then 5 years later her brother sleeping on her floor in her room.  I remember first days of pre-school, my daughter mooning all of Georgia (sorry Mick), Ian eating an ant in 2nd grade and me getting a call from the nurse...elementary school plays, girl scouts, boy scouts, (although it was really Brownies and Cub Scouts), so much more. (embarrassing stories to be continued!)

Once upon a time I thought girls went through so much more than boys in middle school and high school, but I was blessed with a son that showed me otherwise. The world challenges us equally, now I know. I am so grateful for the path that I have been given.  I've learned so much and to this day shake my head at the lessons I've learned.  I  can't believe how quickly time goes.

So it has been the past few days that we've decided to start planning for the next phase of our life.  We have been inspired by my husband's aunt and uncle that bought land in West Virginia when they were young (they are now retired and living our dream!)  We know we have 20+ years of work ahead of us (we didn't plan very well!) but wont be tied to a school district...so we've begun our search for a plot of land where we can eventually build our future home. (Dare I say a place where we invite our grandkids to run through our fields and pet the farm animals?)

More to come as our dream unfolds, but here's to the future.