Looking Past One Day at a Time . . .

Today is a dark and dreary day in New York ~ my favorite kind of weather. I love the rain and the gray clouds and the little breezes blowing thru the trees. The house is still quiet. Probably the last bit of quiet I'm going to have for the next few days since the kids are off from school Thursday and Friday for the Jewish holidays and my niece and nephew are going to be here for a couple of days. Connor comes home from college today for five days and my honey has a week off so there's going to be a house-full. We might actually be able to sit around the dinner table together as a family!! Those times are few and far between lately.

My husband and I were talking the other day and we got into a discussion about long term goals for ourselves and our family. The first thing that came into my head, of course, was the kids and wanting to keep them happy and healthy and to be the best parent that I can be for them. After that, I got stuck. I've been living pretty much One Day at a Time since my first husband very unexpectedly passed away almost seven years ago. There's nothing wrong with living this way and it's served me well and gotten me thru some very difficult times. However, I think it's time to work toward something in the future. It's almost like taking a leap of faith for me ~ letting go and trusting that it's okay to make long-term plans.

We've been talking a lot about how much we'd like to move north to Vermont or New Hampshire when my husband retires. He has a wonderful job but, unfortunately, for him to receive full retirement benefits he'll have to work almost twenty more years. This will put us into our mid 60's (GULP!!). I've been so unhappy with the changes in the county where we live. I grew up here and adored this area and was thrilled that my children would be able to graduate from the same high school that I did. It is still a wonderful community but has grown by leaps and bounds and I'm not happy with the direction it's going in. I want that small-town feeling again. I want a slower pace again. I want to feel like I'm a part of a community again without there being so many people everywhere you go. I want a simpler life-style.

While driving to my sister's house over the weekend, I noticed how peaceful I felt when I got to her town. It's a 40 minute drive up the Hudson River from where we live but it's like going to another world. Lots of trees and little brooks and streams and rocking chairs on the front porches and old barns and people that wave to you and smile when you drive thru their neighborhood. And then it hit me . . . it's like going to Vermont but much closer.

So here is what we've decided . . . when our middle son graduates from high school in three years, we're going to put our house on the market and move to that peaceful little Vermont-like town. Our youngest son is okay with leaving his friends behind and going to a different school. My niece Annie is the same age as him and would be going to the same school. They are like frick and frack so I think that made his decision much easier.

Of course, I don't know what is in store for us for the next three years but I'm going to trust that we're moving in the right direction (so to speak). I'm not used to having long term goals but I have to say that it feels good. I feel like I'm focused on making this happen ~ One Day at a Time. : )

Many blessings ~ Wendy