I may have mentioned that all three boys are now very good swimmers. It did not start that way--not by a long shot. Some kids take to water like fish. But not ours. Here's a photo of our youngest begging me to rescue him from lessons.
Just look at those eyes. Did I do what they beckoned? No. I did not, although I'm sure it felt like it nearly killed me. And I may have overcompensated by buying him a few extra treats that week. But I stayed off that deck, hard as it was, and let him figure things out with his fabulous coaches. And by the end of the week, he was jumping off the diving board. So. Just like I told them, the best way to get good at something is to trust in your abilities, be open to learning, and then jump in and try. So here I go.
And I should note, I am doing so even though my writing is rusty. Like, incredibly rusty. But I'm excited to journal again and I know the more I practice, the sooner I'll settle back into a voice I recognize as my own. My tastes and interests are both familiar and new, so the content here might likewise flip back and forth from topics I've touched upon (family, cooking, knitting, DIY, running...) as well as new obsessions (cookie decorating, endurance training, organizing, skincare, and home decor). It's all part of what makes up my little corner and I'd like to memorialize these things. The only New Year's Resolution I made this year is to be more present. And this blog will hopefully have a large place in that effort.
And! As the post title suggests, it will be a fine time to be more present as we embark on turning a new-to-us house into our home. We are moving but four doors down in our beloved neighborhood. It is a larger house, with several features we've planned to add on someday, such as a front porch, large master bath, and...drumroll...a mudroom. And I do mean an honest-to-goodness mudroom--not just muddy rooms, because I have plenty of those right here. In the new house there is a blank slate of a room between garage and kitchen. I don't even have to design it to function as a multi-purpose laundry/mudroom because the laundry room is upstairs (in another dedicated space. Pinch me now.) Seriously. Half the neighborhood jokes that we are moving because of the mudroom and upstairs laundry. And you know what? They are not wrong.
Now, the finishes and appointments of the home lean more traditional than our current tastes--so I'm looking forward to redesigning the spaces to reflect our style. Which is what, exactly? That's the fun part I can't wait to figure out. Along with so many, I've watched all the Fixer Uppers. So I won't deny that shiplapping a wall will likely happen. But I also feel drawn to a more modern aesthetic lately.
I don't have many pictures to put up in this post because, well, everything is in boxes, including my camera--we begin the move this weekend! But here's a recent shot of our family of five since I cannot remember how to update the sidebars. Charlie was recently promoted to Colonel in the Marine Corps reserve and we tried to clean up for the lovely ceremony. Isn't it shocking how big the boys are (now 15, 13, and 10)?
I'll take more pictures for the upcoming posts...but I wanted to get the journaling going and not overthink it too much. Because sometimes when you do, you won't just jump in.
