Playing

Matt mid-shenanigans with Corbin today on the couch. He's wearing a soft pumpkin that Corbin uses for trick-or-treating.



We're really fortunate that Matt's unit was so generous in giving him this entire week off to spend with Corbin as he recovers. It turned out to be a special time for Matt and Corbin as they rarely get to spend large blocks of time together without me. During long deployments Corbin and I undoubtedly bond and it's always heartbreaking for Matt to miss out on that one-on-one interaction. Anyway, this week was tough a bit with catching up at work, BUT I owe a huge thank you to my sweet friend Kristen who organized meal delivery for our little family every other night for the next ten days. We have received two meals already and though I am physically capable of planning and preparing meals now, when we first got back I was very overwhelmed. I literally went straight to work in the clothes I had flown in the day before and didn't get a chance to even walk into our house until later that evening. I had Open House at school the first night back, and had not been able to get to the grocery store to buy nutritious food. Matt and I both were desperate for home-cooked meals. I feel very fortunate and blessed to be a part of a community that cares enough to deliver meals to a family that has been on the go and under stress for the past three months. It shows (as my friend Libba said) that we don't just have to wait for a baby to be born or a family member to pass away to share the wonderful gift of cooked meals with friends. I was starting to feel guilty about it, but when she and I talked it reaffirmed that we shouldn't put limits on our giving and loving. I will CERTAINLY pay it forward because so much has been given to my family during this vulnerable and challenging phase of our lives. In this vein I will continue to sing praises of friends- Jonah (one of Matt's friends from childhood) came to visit us Friday night with Mike and Shannon (two other longtime buddies) and he came bearing gifts for Corbin. They were specifically rewards for Corbin's bravery. It was an exceptionally thoughtful gesture and it meant the world to Corbin. He had the biggest grin and has been pretty much inseparable from the "Zurg" action figure all weekend. It was so fun to see Matt relaxing and laughing with his friends. I firmly believe friendships are among the most important ingredients to a happy and healthy life. When we first moved here I struggled so badly to meet friends and right after giving birth to Corbin I was lonely; cursing the distance between me and my friends in Georgia. I don't know if it's a personal struggle or if all women feel this way, but, to me, it is an arduous undertaking to meet and befriend women in new towns. Though it took a while to establish, I now have such a wonderful and eclectic network of female friends. There are women I have met through teaching, women I've met through church, new neighbors, former neighbors, military wives, and ladies from the fitness center. I was telling Matt tonight that I used to bemoan this place- it's so flat, sandy, boring, too Southern, not progressive enough, but I have realized that it doesn't really matter where you live when you have good people and a loving community. There is no doubt that the human condition is in the community. We are designed to be social. We depend on each other. Life simply can not be done alone. When we were in Los Angeles this last time I reflected a lot more on the importance of community. On our first trip out for Corbin's initial reconstruction, I absorbed L.A. as an adventurous city with so much to do and such a diverse population. Two weeks ago when we were there I went running for thirty minutes and realized through wandering the streets that the massive sprawling Urbania was subdivided into a lot of communities. We were staying in the Fairfax District, but I ran through the Miracle Mile neighborhood and into Hancock Park and ventured a bit into La Brea. It made me think even more about how much I value a small community. There is security in recognizing people in cross-over situations. For instance, I met a very sweet lady when Corbin was in swim lessons, and I have since seen her at the library, in the grocery store, and at a friend's party. It's comforting to see familiar faces. My neighbors chat sometimes out in the cul de sac while checking mail and walking dogs, they all like to see and hear Corbin ride his bike in the cul de sac, and families that I met at church also frequent the same parks and swimming pools. Anyway, I was thinking about how a big city is probably a very lonely place as a transplant. I have moved from Boone to Winston-Salem to Richmond to Tacoma to Dahlonega to Southern Pines, Out of all the moves, Southern Pines has embraced me and I it. Certainly this town would not be my first pick out of all the wonderful places to live in the world, but it is a pleasant and safe community with lovely streets and family-friendly businesses. I am impressed with the arts scene, the athletic opportunities, and frankly such mundane things as organized recycling programs. I stumbled upon the O'Neal school and it has become such a perfect working scenario. Corbin is now across the parking lot from me at the preschool and I am enjoying my students so much. This blog post is basically my purging of thankfulness and it's not that interesting to read, but I have needed to write all of these wonderful blessings down for a while now...