The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I made the comment to Rusty this morning that "The light at the end of the tunnel of transition is growing ever brighter." This was in reference to our container, which is due to arrive on our doorstep bright and early tomorrow morning! It is hard to believe that by this time tomorrow evening, our empty house will be full of our things and we can begin making it feel like home. I don't mean to suggest that the arrival of the container will bring an end to the process of transition, but it will sure go a long way to helping me feel settled and in a more permanent place, which I desperately, desperately need right now.

In some ways, it feels like the last 6 years have been one long transition, from the time we left Japan in 2006 and returned to Oregon to take care of Rusty's mom until now. We were settled in our own home in Memphis for a little less than a year and a half while Rusty finished grad school, but at the end of 2008, we packed up most of our things and then made a series of temporary moves -- to Michigan, to Nashville, then to Portugal, then back to Michigan. When we were in Nashville, we lived in a house provided by the church, but even then, we only unpacked what we needed to live comfortably. We didn't spend a lot of time decorating... we didn't even hang curtains! So some of what we'll be unpacking starting tomorrow we haven't seen in almost 4 years, since before Stephen was born! Crazy...

I'm anxious to begin "making my nest," to sleep on my own bed again, to do my laundry in my own house, to cook with my own pots and pans on my American-size stove. I'm looking forward to doing some scrapbooking again, to hanging pictures on the walls, to surrounding myself with visual reminders of people and places near and dear to us. Rusty is excited about having all his tools at arm's reach again and making coffee in his Starbucks coffee pot. The kids of course are excited about seeing their toys. Alex kept asking me all day about specific toys, like his light saber and his collection of plastic dragons. They have been getting pretty bored with the few toys we brought with us in our luggage. Some of the toys we'll be unpacking Stephen has never even seen or played with. I'm sure it will seem like Christmas to them!

Okay, it's going to seem like Christmas to all of us!