It comes as no surprise that this process offers many opportunities to evaluate many areas of life--finances, what kind of home we want to have, the value of "stuff" and all of that, wants vs needs, etc. It also showed me a lot about people and relationships. I discovered some people who are more in our corner than I knew, and a greater closeness in our family than one might guess. That has been wonderful, and it continues to warm my heart, encourage me, and steady me when I am feeling shaky. Of course, it has not been all rainbows and unicorns and hugs. Although these small amounts of somewhat negative feelings ranged from unpleasant to sad to alternately annoyed and chuckling bemusement, they cannot compare to the good. I discovered some people who I thought were ready to be there for us are not in that place. I discovered a few people do not hold us in much esteem, and that has caused me to consider why these relationships exist. Let me see if I can explain. The typical response to learning someone has become a new homeowner would be to congratulate and if you see the house to say something complimentary, right? That is mostly what we encountered, but then there were those few others. The ones with their backhanded compliments, who said they were surprised the house wasn't as bad as they imagined, or said that if we could get a house they are going to get a nicer one or maybe buy a couple and flip them, or wondered aloud just how we were able to get a house, or asked for the nickel tour and spent it pointing out any flaw or maintenance needed. Then there were the comments and looks that saddened me, but more for them than me. Apparently, we have some people in our life who, well, it would be grandiose to say they keep us around to feel better about themselves, but clearly, they feel at least a twinge of discomfort for us to experience this sort of improvement in our circumstances. Oh, well, that sort of thing is just so odd to me.
Speaking of people and relationships, I have been poking in here and there keeping up with you all as best as I could. I know many of you have had a lot going on--major life changes, death and loss, illness and injury, sadnesses and worries, and I have kept you all in thought and prayer. I have also cheered for the successes, and oohed and aahed over the things you have been making and growing. I have also missed out on a lot, and I hope to get back into the swing of reading and commenting, emailing, and blogging. There is a lot of new in my life, and it is challenging for me to establish a new routine, but I am working on it. I have missed everyone. Thank you for hanging in there with me.
