Home. This word is a magical word. It means different things to different people, and no two people, even from the same family, hold the same definition of HOME.
We have come home, our family of five, to the house we left behind, and the pets and friends and toys and schools and activities and responsibilities and... well, you get the idea. :) We jumped back into the regular swing of life fifteen hours after arriving at our house, and we have hardly had a chance to catch our breath since. Soccer has started for both boys, and Carson is back at guitar lessons, we have purchased a new vehicle, had the old one die (temporarily, thank goodness), and been to two funerals. We have painted one bedroom, and have paint picked for the rest of the house. The list of renovations has been made, and we are plotting out the timetable to get them all completed. Spring has arrived - I hope to stay this time! - and the yard work has started, too. And we are adjusting to being back home in Northern Saskatchewan.
Margo has had the most adjusting to do of the children. She was 2.5 when we left, and while she remembered the pets and some of the toys she left behind, much of the layout of the house seemed to be a mystery the first day or so back. She has found her way around, and has become accustomed to the strange notion that we own this house and everything in it, after living in a fully furnished rental for the past eight months of her life. She was pretty cute, walking around, wondering, "Wow! They sure gots a lot of movies, here!". (Repeat, replacing "toys" for "movies", and "books" for "toys", and you hear the first three days back home.) She slowly realized that this is ours, and now, the battles start, because everything is new for her, and thus, as it has been discovered by her, it stands to reason that it is hers, right? Right?!? Enter the big brothers, who are just as happy to reclaim their old toys as she is to discover and claim them, and let's just say, that not every day has been peaceful and tranquil at play time. ;) But, they are figuring it all out. Slowly.
Carson is happy and comfortable, right back at school and guitar and soccer, and in the middle of his social circle once again. I can tell that he is completely relaxed here, because he is losing everything. His hoodies get forgotten at school or at a friend's with great regularity. His books and pens get misplaced, and his room is an absolute sty again, although both of his sibling helped a little with that last one. But what it highlights for me is how careful he was in France, with all of his things, so that they not be lost in a strange land, never to be found again. Here, one friend or another generally recognizes it, and brings it along.
Riley is the happiest to be home, I think. He is reveling in his old bedding, his old toys, his old friends, his old pets, his old clothes... He is just. so. happy. It is wonderful to see, and at the same time, it breaks my heart a little bit, knowing how much he missed everything while we were gone. His school schedule is half of what it was. Kindergarten here runs full days, every other day, and he is delighting both in going to school, and in staying home to play. He has the best of both worlds right now, and it shows.
Lloyd is happy to be back home, in his house, with his tools and projects and friends and yard and truck. I, too, am very happy to be home, with my books and mixer and kitchen and washer & dryer, and my friends and neighbours. As we reintegrate here, many of the little, subtle differences between here and there are coming to light, and in the quiet moments of the day and evening, they tease themselves into my consciousness, and I ponder the whys and hows of it all. And the subtle, and not so subtle, changes in us...
2 comments:
What a unique experience you all have had. And Margo sounds so sweet!
She is very sweet, unless she is being a stinker! And sometimes she is sweet AND a stinker, at the same time! ;) And this was an experience that we will certainly never, ever forget.
Post a Comment