Sometimes it just takes seeing a bad situation to appreciate
the one you are in… knowing how good you really have it. Over the last month I have gained a lot of perspective.
I have done this in several areas of my
life, and I must say, it makes life just a little bit sweeter.
We tagged along with Eric on a work trip (in a small hotel
room…6 of us)mostly because I wasn’t ready to spend an extended time alone in
Maryland, not because work trips are fun. We spent our vacation budget on
moving this summer, so we didn’t have money set aside to do “vacationy” things.
We were in Orlando, a city that knows how to get you to spend some money, and
we were on a $0 budget. So we spent our
time doing free/cheap stuff. So we spent most days at the hotel pool and did
beaches on the weekend. We did one day of Downtown Disney (because it is free),
but most of the time we just hung out. In Orlando it also rains a lot…like
every day. It doesn’t rain all day (usually), but you do get rain everyday. So
on about day 6 (we were there for 18 days) we ventured to the local Goodwill
and got a chess/checker/domino set and a NIB Chutes and Ladders… for under $7!
We also had no oven. Stove top and microwave (there were lots of PB&J sandwiches
consumed) and a fridge that does not open all the way.
Here is where perspective makes a world of a difference. I
could have been really frustrated (I know this because we have made this trip
with Eric before, and I was frustrated the entire time), but I chose not to
be. We swam when it was sunny, and came
in when it wasn’t. Everyone had their
own activity and could work on it by themselves or with a sibling. My kids
watched way too much Animal Planet (and thanks to Dirty Jobs I got to answer
way more questions than I wanted to about childbirth after all of my children
watching Mike Rowe pull a calf), and I watched way too many re-runs of Friends
late at night. I learned to become super efficient at packing food for an
entire day away from the hotel, mastered the art of spending an entire day at
the beach with minimal tears and sand coming home with us, and let my kids “be
kids” so much more than I did 2 years ago at this exact hotel. I learned to appreciate the fact that someone
else was making beds and scrubbing bathrooms, rather than be annoyed some “stranger”
was always in our space. I even missed the dog. :) And most importantly for me
at this season in my life… I wanted to be home… in Maryland. The small space of a hotel room and my kids
not being able to play outside without me right there really made me appreciate
the huge blessing of a home I have. I have a nice house, with a big yard where
my kids can run and play. We are all
together, and even though at times it feels lonely, it is our home… and I am so
thankful for it.
Over the last month I have seen a lot of heartache from a
distance. It makes it hard to be away
and know you can’t be there. So today,
instead of being sad about all the things that are different, or hard, or
lonely, or far away… I choose to change my perspective. I am so very thankful to have a healthy
husband that loves me, four happy, healthy children that love the Lord, and a
place I call home… where all the people I love the most in this world are right
here with me.
Thanks for joining me on the Journey!
