I mentioned that we moved in with my parents while our house was on the market. This is not something I wanted to do. They are wonderful people (very generous in fact), but I didn't relish feeling like a kid again. Of course God had a purpose for this also. I feel much closer to my mom after living there for those weeks. We were able to talk about some things that needed talking over and I think we're both stronger for it. My kids got to spend a lot of time with their grandparents (which they absolutely loved) and while they are a tad spoiled now, I'm glad they got the chance to hang out with them. My mom kept saying what great kids they are (and she's not one who is just willie nillie with her compliments). My dad took them to the garage for some woodworking which produced cars and space ships and little droids. Mom let them play in the sprinkler and swung with them in the front yard on the swing.
I would have classified myself as an independent person prior to Erik being away for so long. What grabbed me was everything I had grown accustomed to him taking care of. I was now the mom and the dad and that's a daunting task. I couldn't pull an "I don't feel like going" because there was no one else to take the kids to practice or games or AWANA. I had to suck it up and just do it. Many a night I fell into bed shortly after the kids went down and snoozed until Erik called (he called nightly).
When we first came to my parents' house, they didn't have TiVo. I'll admit that I just don't tolerate commercials like I used to. I found myself choosing not to watch TV at all because nothing would be on worth watching when I had the time. So, I'd work on my LBY study or pray or write in my journal or read. The Lord was already separating me from my "stuff" at my house and He had taken a shot to my pride by sending me to live with the folks. Then, He began to systematically distance me from the internet and TV. I tell you, when you ask for Him to get rid of the distractions, He will do just that. Often when I would try to get online to post or read or whatever (unless it was absolutely necessary stuff) my computer would crash! During the time we were without TiVo at my parents' I'd grown used to doing something other than watch it that when we hooked them up with DirecTiVo later I still didn't watch much.
Once we felt sure the house would close and knew we'd only take one tv with us, we told my parents they could have the newer TiVo box (as a "thank you") and we'd take the older one with us. That night a lightning strike took out our TiVo box - fried it really good. If that's not a sign, I don't know what is lol. At first I was somewhat low about this. Those who have read here long know that I really value TiVo. As it turns out, we couldn't get Satellite here anyway because we don't have a clear path to the Southern sky. So, we are without TV and last night we mused that we might be better for it.
My parents have been a huge support through all of this. I am so thankful for the time we had with them. I pray that we didn't disrupt their lives too much. It will never be possible to properly express our thanks I'm sure. They gave of everything they had to help us. Although we were just passin' through, they made those weeks bearable.
...To Be Continued