Coming Along with Adjustments

Last Sunday was our snowy sledding day, and this Sunday was our sunny playing in the creek day. What a difference a week makes. Actually, what a difference two months makes.

Today marks eight weeks since we moved to the valley, and we are beginning to feel settled. There have been lots of adjustments and new things to learn, but I have noticed that we have adapted to some of them now to the point they are hardly noticed.

I know, for example, that there is someone in church who sits behind us that has a watch alarm set for 11:30 that goes off each week during the sermon. It lasts several minutes because whoever has that alarm set must not be able to hear at that particular pitch. It used to bother me... now I just know that it is 11:30.

I have become accustomed to the noise in the night of a mouse caught in a sticky trap. As we all sat around the living room tonight watching the Amazing Race finale, we heard a noise and paused our show, looked around, saw the unfortunate guest, and took a few minutes to dispose of the critter. We then set out a replacement trap in the hot spot and started our show again. It barely caused a stir.

I have learned when we drive pretty much anywhere and park in the parking lot, my car will without competition be the dirtiest vehicle in the lot. It used to feel strange to me, and I cringed a little. If you know my father you realize that the mud-crusted car is not what I grew up with. His cars are spotless. Ours have never been spotless, but now our Sequoia is literally two-toned--- brown on the lower half and silver on the top. We leap out so we don't get mud/dirt on our pant legs.

I must admit that our time here on the prairie in Southern Colorado feels like it has been much longer than two months. The days in the hectic pace of city life seem so foreign now. We now comment on all the crowds of people and traffic in Pueblo when we go "to town", and the four lanes of traffic on the interstate seem overwhelming at times. A mere eight weeks ago I was driving daily in 10 lane traffic without blinking an eye. We are always ready to get back to our dirt road on which we might pass one or two vehicles at the most and possibly a few deer or antelopes.

Don't get me wrong, things here are not perfect. There are days that I long for a Route 44 Sonic coke or a fillet of fish with no tartar sauce with a large fry from McDonald's. I miss having friends that are effortless. I miss the familiarity of the kids' old school and teachers and staff. Things here are not perfect, but they were not perfect in Texas either. They were just known. As we are learning and growing and adjusting to the newness here, we are adapting and changing and appreciating the things we are blessed with.

Lamentations 3:22-23 "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."