Whirlwind

When I stop and think about how busy life could be with school, wedding planning, and splitting my time between Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, it’s hard to compare it to a whirlwind. But there’s still a connection. It’s not so much what I’ve been doing as much as how life has just been changing-like a whirlwind. With life so different than it has ever been, I’m just trying to figure out how to hang on for the ride.

Some of the changes that have come since the beginning of the year:

• New (and hopefully final) semester, thankfully not as time demanding as I was expecting. But I’ve also lowered my expectations for grades 
• “Moved” to Michigan. This was something in the plans before I got the proposal, and when I said yes I knew that I still wanted to have some time in Michigan and Seth graciously agreed. It’s meant lots of hours on the road as I go home or to Champaign every weekend. There have been many great moments with the McCormicks, but since I’m hardly spending half the days each week up here I’ve realized that after Jim and Maria move next Saturday it will be time for me to “move” back home. Here are a few pictures of the memories Calvin and I have made together:

Clearly the lawn needed mowed.

Trying artichokes = success!

He’s fast and he can climb.

Pouring water back and forth took so much concentration.

Having a conversation with the random hand stocking the yogurt at Trader Joe’s. That’s confusing for a two-year-old.

We’re loving this weather! This picture is from last week when it looked warmer than it felt. However, this week has us outside in short sleeves!

• At the end of January, Seth had a major jaw surgery. This has been a bigger change for him than for me, but since our lives are pretty connected right now it’s had an effect on both of us. He’s handling it like a champ, and I’m not just saying that because I’m supposed to say nice things about him. I’m truly impressed at how he’s making the most of it.
• Motivated by my fitness class, I’ve taken up running. Not marathon training or anything, but it’s become a regular activity in my weekly schedule and I usually miss it on the days that I don’t do it. On the days that I do run I overcompensate with chocolate. But I confessed to Maria today that I live to eat. Definitely one of those people.
•  A week ago I got a new car, which is quite exciting considering the fact that POJ has no air conditioning, bad tires, and a noticeable shake in the front end whenever I take her on the interstate. I really like my new car BUT it’s manual. Seth let me drive his manual the Saturday before I got the car, and I somewhat got a hang of it so I was confident that I could learn when Dad and I went to look at the new car on Monday. That night I drove it up to Michigan, maybe killed it a few times, and figured that the best way to learn is to drive. A week later, I’d say I’m somewhat getting the hang of things…but if you want to avoid whiplash then avoid riding with me for a few more weeks.

Not a great picture, but it’s a 2010 Toyota Corolla in charcoal. 

• Today the cupboards are emptying out and the boxes are filling up as Maria’s focusing on packing up the kitchen. The family is coming up this weekend to help the McCormick’s move to McPherson. Their new home is so beautiful and so SPACIOUS! It will be so great for Calvin to have a basement where he can keep toys set up, and it will be nice to have more than one bathroom. We could go on and on with the benefits of the move, but the point is that this is a wonderful change!

I’ll try to do better about posting in the upcoming weeks, but no promises. In this stage of life blogging isn’t a priority. However, I do love reflecting through various seasons, and a year from now there will be a new norm and the things that seem so unforgettable now will already have escaped my memory. And that’s why a blog is helpful, so hopefully there will be a few more posts before the wedding.