Therapy

There's a good chance that nearly everything I post on Facebook over the next year will most likely make it to the blog...eventually.  Sorry for the repeats!  We had some wonderful moments yesterday, and it wouldn't feel right not to blog about them.

I say that "some" of the moments were wonderful.  Truthfully, the day started out a little rough.  For whatever reason, the previous few days had been a bit hard for me.  We've been in New Zealand now for six weeks, and especially since we've had Emily with us, I honestly haven't had much trouble adjusting to our new life here at all.  About a week ago, I even recall feeling pretty proud of myself for getting through this move (and all the drama that has gone along with it) without much emotional wear and tear.

I should have knocked on wood.  I'm sure that part of the reason for feeling off these past few days has to do with the kids going back to school.  Before they enrolled in school, we were traveling and sleeping late and going to the park and generally living like we were on vacation.  Now that the kids are in school and the schedule is much more rigid, this experience has gone from feeling like an amazing, extended break to "Dang, this is real life."  Additionally, my sister Lydia had a baby this week, and I've felt sad missing out on being there with her and meeting baby Lucy.  Even realizing that these events might contribute to feeling down, I've still beaten myself up a bit inside over feeling homesick at all.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our family.  I've felt frustrated and a little guilty having any negative feelings.  So, I've tried to be brave and keep a smile on my face, knowing I would eventually recover and be fine.

I'm usually a "glass half full" kind of gal, but yesterday morning, that poor glass was bone dry.  I walked through the door after dropping the older girls off at school, and felt like I had a lump in my throat the size of one of the lemons on our tree.  Steve noticed immediately that I wasn't feeling okay.  All it took was for him to say, "Aww...what's wrong?" and the dam burst.  I cried hard for several minutes, confessing that the reality of actually living here for the next eleven months was weighing on me.  Steve gave me a big hug, looked me in the eye, and told me, "Mindy, we have been through a huge change.  It's okay to feel homesick!  I would worry about you if you didn't." He always says the perfect thing to make me feel better.

Having a nice little cry did me good.  I washed my face and blew my nose, ready to get started on my laundry and other household tasks.  When I came out of the bathroom, Steve had loaded up the babies in the bike trailer and said, "C'mon, it's a beautiful day.  We're going for a ride.  The house can wait."

We rode along the river path, and the sun was so warm on our backs that we had to take off our jackets after just a few minutes.  We stopped at the park so the twins could go down their favorite slide.  They humored me by letting me go down the slide with them a few times.

One of the highlights at the park was seeing this beautiful tree full of cherry blossoms!  

Steve tried to take a photo of us on our bikes, while simultaneously swerving to avoid street signs and fences.

We stopped at Winter Family Bakery for deli sandwiches and pastry.  We think this handful of deliciousness is called a turnover, but we've nicknamed it the "Dream Taco."  It's like a sweet, flaky croissant, opened up, with an apple or apricot spread on the inside, then piped full of perfectly whipped sweet cream.  Good night...it's amazing.  We are going to need to go on A LOT of bike rides now that we've discovered these things.  :)

After lunch, we put the twins down for their nap, opened the sliding door to our bedroom which let in a subtle breeze, and took naps of our own.  Ahhhhh.... just the therapy and cleansing I needed to break free of the funk I was in.  I'm so grateful for a loving husband, my best friend, who never freaks out or says anything condescending when I have an occasional meltdown.  I love you, Steve!  Life is good.