Do Overs.....

I just love it when God brings me back to a place that I never thought I would be again.

It's like life's little do-overs.

There are so many levels of emotions that I feel when something like that happens.

Right now I am experiencing this on three levels.

First I'm feeling the "want to" to pick up this blog again.

As I have spoken of before,

there are seasons of life that just cant be put into words

as they are happening.

Some things are better left to rest until the come to their own conclusions

 before the story can be told.

The last four years of my life seemed to consist of one event after another

that just needed to sit within my heart until healing and understanding

could bring about the right words to share. 

To all you moms of teenagers out there, I know you feel me.

Let me just say that it gets better.  It really does.

My second do-over is that we are back in Rhode Island!

We lived here 7 years ago and this is the place where my blog began.

My first post were of our life here and how much we loved it.

Despite the fact that we fought tooth and nail to stay in Maryland,

coming back here after 7 years has been wonderful. 

There were so many things in Maryland that brought a level of comfort to me.

That level of comfort in a new duty station

 is not something we military families are used to. 

It was a blessing to live near my mom

and my Maryland family.

It was great to walk into the salon where my mom works and be among friends.

It was incredible to live in the neighborhood I grew up in.

I did meet lots of great new people too,

but most of those people I met after I had already been there for quite some time

 and my life there had already become routine. 

I had my bearings and I didn't feel like the "new girl" who desperately needed

to belong.

Those friendships were formed with a sense of ease,

not in a "please be my friend so I don't become a hermit" kind of way.

I was so blessed with a strong client base and met so many people in Maryland

that I hope to keep in touch with.

I have no idea why God moved us here when we were so comfortable.

Perhaps it was to stretch my world a little bit more.

The level of comfort I was experiencing isn't always good for a person like me.

 Most think that I am very outgoing,

but in reality it is hard for me to put myself out there.

It is scary to be the new person in groups that are already well established.

 It is scary to find out if and where you fit in.

 It is scary to be in new unfamiliar situations...at least it is for me.

 So, now I'm back to reaching out again.

 I'm brushing up on all those skills that I was able to let lay dormant

in Maryland.

It's a good thing!

Rhode Island has so many good qualities.

I had forgotten how very beautiful and vibrant this place is.

Whenever anyone asked me what my favorite duty station has been so far,

I always included Rhode Island in my top 3 because of it's beauty.

Last time we were here it was only for one year.

I broke my ankle 9 months into that year and which kept me home and healing

for our last few months here.

I was always so bummed that we did not get to explore everything we wanted to

because of that unexpected injury.

Now we are back for almost 4 years and I've got a list a mile long of all the places

I want to go and see and everything we want to explore. 

 Boston, Mystic, Martha's Vineyard,

Nantucket, Cape Cod,

points of interest in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine,

Providence, Jamestown, Block Island

 and Newport are all on the list.

Summers here are alive and filled with so many activities in the community. 

There is something different to do every day of the week. 

Just walking around in downtown Newport on a summer evening is so enjoyable for me.

The restaurants, the history, the people bustling about,

the harbor, the sailboats and yachts,

 the cliff walk, the beach, the ocean,

the clams, the boutiques,

the music from local bands,

the landscaping, the cobblestone....

I was made for this place!

As great as the summers are,
I'm a girl who loves Fall and the Autumn season here is just breathtaking!

 
New Englanders are incredibly friendly!  

Every single day when I am out in town

someone starts up a friendly conversation with me.

The locals are extremely helpful and genuine.

I'm just so excited and thankful for this do-over.

There is another do-over that I am also thankful for.

We are so, so blessed that our son Zachary and his precious little family

followed us here to Rhode Island.

They live in the sweet little town of Bristol about 5 miles from us.

They are thriving here!

 Zach has a great job and is able to support his family enough that Jenna

is able to follow her dreams and go to school full time

to work toward her career in the medical field.

Starting today, Landon will be with me for a few hours 4 days a week.

We are working on baby proofing the house and I've been

on Pinterest looking for fun activities to do with 1 year olds.

I am going to have so much fun with him!

I plan to make the most of this special little do-over that I have with him.

I loved being a stay at home mom and building into my children

as much as I could.  I enjoyed coming up with creative things we could do.

I loved reading them nap time stories and taking them to the park.

We were definitely on the go most days and we let no grass grow under our feet!

How blessed am I to be able to revisit some of the joy of pre-schoolers again?

I'm not as young and energetic as I was when I packed up three little kids

and ran all over town every day, but I am gonna do my best to keep up with this little guy!!