Home Again?

Nat and I are sleeping in my brother's room at my parent's house. We live here. There is no way to say that without acknowledging the pang of ...failure, inadequacy, risk to relationship, i'm 29 and living with my parents etc...Even the lady at the bank who needed our new addresses to order checks and also knows my family says "How's that working out?"

The truth is, it is working out beautifully so far. My number one goal in choosing to live with my parents was to minimize the emotional and transitional effects on my children. Already, I can tell this move is much more gentle, even exciting, for them. Whenever we have moved before, or someone has left our home, the boys melt down in random tantrums for weeks, or talk about how the old place was "falling apart" or come up with other explanations for why we had to leave.  When we move, my children feel out of control. It is not fair to them. This time, they are excited and at ease here. My parents home and the beautiful land where I grew up is a refuge for them. They are loved, safe, and familiar here.

there are other reasons we choose to live with my parents...i do believe in the principles of community, of living with less and sharing more. i wish we knew what our next step was, but as it is, we are on unpaved road...the future is unclear, and until we know a little more, it seemed unwise to pick a place to 'have roots' at random. In the meantime, we would much rather contribute to my parents mortgage, then to an apartment of equal value. Who knows? Maybe this little social experiment will open the doors to more community, not just between my folks and me, but expanded life together in a broader sense.

I am so thankful for this place, this "eagle's rest" as my parents have named the property. Along the way, I hope the extra cleaning, hot meals, and tiny hugs are all a blessing to my parents as well.

I do not know where we go, but for now, I sleep in my brother's room at my parents house, and my boys doze in the bonus room transformed by our meager belongings. Crunch-gravel-crunch. We are well on our way...