This spring has been a whirlwind of activity. I haven’t written much in the past couple of months because whenever I thought about sitting down to share a story, all that came to mind were snippets of poetry about being underwater and not being able to take a breath.
If you had told me last year that I’d be moving back to Albuquerque I wouldn’t have believed it, but in only five months everything is set. We bought a house in Corrales, New Mexico in March and as the flier our real estate agent just sent out to my neighborhood says, our house in Fort Worth sold thirty-five days after we put it on the market. The path before us is straight and well-lit with neon signs that this is what we are supposed to do.
Choice fatigue is a real thing though. I’m downsizing, going through cupboards and wardrobes, sorting books and socks, and deciding what tables, chairs, and kitchen gadgets will go with Esther and John Ben to Ohio and which will stay in Fort Worth with my friends. We will have plenty to move, but the best part of changing residences is getting rid of all the stuff I’ve kept because we had a place to store it. It’s freeing in a way. Then there’s the multitude of choices for renovations at the new house. I can’t make one more decision about carpet or tile color. Mike has been the real champion in making all the important details come to fruition. He’s been the one working with the contractor who is updating our new home.
Amidst all this work between the houses, I made it through my most difficult school year yet, teaching six different math classes. It’s a relief to look forward to working at the kids’ classical school in Albuquerque next year, knowing that my class load will be down to three. We’ve finished finals week and though I still need to grade them and turn in report cards, the end is so near I can feel the lightening of the weight on my shoulders. I’m fantasizing about all my free time and filling the hours with ballroom dance, boxing, and maybe Pilates, with homecooked dinners and keeping up on laundry and dishes, but maybe after we unpack the moving boxes, I’ll sit it in the courtyard behind my new house and just breathe.
Esther’s wedding preparations have been exciting. We are still waiting for her dress to arrive. Her cake maker canceled on her, and one of my precious days off was spent running around Fort Worth finding a late-notice baker. I couldn’t find anyone to pick it up for me, but the store manager offered to deliver for a fee. I felt bad that though I could buy Esther a wedding with all the dress and all the flowers and all the reception that I didn’t have, I couldn’t give her the feeling of support and community that I had at my wedding. My potluck wedding reception made me feel like I needed everyone’s working together to make it all happen. That’s why the spontaneous bridal shower thrown by my friends in Albuquerque for Esther as she drove home from California last week meant so much to me.
It’s lovely to see Esther happy and in love. She and John Ben are renting a house in Steubenville, Ohio and John Ben and his stepfather will be driving out next week to bring a load of furniture and books and boxes of stuff to set up house. Esther is busy organizing her graduate school schedule and her work schedule, making honeymoon reservations, and working on last-minute wedding details. These next two weeks with her before the wedding will fly by. It will be hard for me not knowing when we will see her and John Ben next, but I’m hoping for next Christmas.
Tomorrow, I fly to Nashville, Tennessee to pick up Sophia who is moving back to Fort Worth though the rest of us are moving to Albuquerque. She has a friend here with a house and a job who wants Sophia to move in with her. Sophia’s friend in Nashville may join them someday though their plans this year didn’t work out like the nineteen-year-olds had imagined. I’m relieved to have Sophia in a more stable situation where I have loads of friends I can call on if she needs help. It’s a pretty drive, and I’m looking forward to spending time with her.
Basil threw a party after the last day of school moving up ceremony on Thursday. It was a surprise to me, but I love having a full house. I just wish that Domino’s delivered. The teen girls raided my freezer and cooked up the appetizers I had on hand. The kids at St. Peters will miss the way that Basil brought them all together for his random parties. It’s yet another reason to be sad that we won’t be living close to our new school.
At the graduation ceremony at St. Peter’s Basil was asked to be one of the readers in the abbreviated vespers service. He received the priest’s blessing, walked up to the podium to begin, and realized that he didn’t have a sheet of paper with the scripture. He looked at Father Mark who seemed to shrug, but that didn’t faze Basil one bit. He whipped out his phone and read the verses with full confidence. I was so proud of his calm and his problem-solving. The strength and assurance of a seventeen-year-old boy is a wonder to behold.
Basil will drive his brothers home to Albuquerque after summer camp in Oklahoma. He is an amazing driver and drove the whole way from here to Albuquerque when we went there for Pascha. We’ll have Basil for a week before he goes to Ohio to visit Esther, California for a two-week camp at Thomas Aquinas College where Esther graduated, and two more weeks in Pennsylvania for a camp at the Antiochian Village. We will miss him!
Jonah is looking forward to being in Albuquerque with his friend Alex. They are both going to the Antiochian Village camp with Basil. After summer camp in Oklahoma, Jonah will be ready for a nice long break to rest and grow taller before starting high school in the fall. He’s already making plans for driving though he’s got another year before getting his permit.
Xenia’s having the most trouble of all the kids adjusting to the idea of moving. I’m doing my best to set up lots of playdates with her friends before we move and trying to spend extra time with her. Mike and I brought Xenia with us for our three-day weekend trip to California for Esther’s graduation. Whenever she ran off, Xenia was to be found up one tree or another. In line for brunch after the graduation ceremony, Xenia saw the fruit basket and ran off shouting that she knew where there were fresher oranges to be found. Esther and John Ben went looking for her half an hour later and came back to report suspicious orange peels on the ground in the school’s orange grove. Before the three of us left for the airport on Sunday, we went to the beach where Xenia and I splashed in the ocean. I grabbed her to make her to get her feet wet and ended up getting surprised by one of the freezing cold waves up to my knees. Even though the hem of my jean skirt was soaked, Xenia and I spent another twenty minutes racing waves and dipping our feet in the Pacific Ocean. I took a few rare photos of Xenia looking truly happy. It’s her happy place. Little girl, the beach is my happy place too.
Justin came home from his last day of school and went on a long bike ride. He’ll enjoy being outdoors all summer. He’s already talking about the fun he had on his shadow day and anticipating good things for school next year. I hope that he has a wonderful summer filled with fun time with all his cousins.
Besides managing the house remodel from here, Mike has been busy with work. I think that it will help when he has only one-hour time difference between him and his company in California instead of the two-hour difference here in Texas. He’s looking forward to his family and friends in Albuquerque too.
This weekend I go off to bring Sophia home. Next weekend is Esther’s bridal shower and then the big wedding! It will be a day to remember with joy and thanks, and I appreciate all the family and friends who are surrounding us with their love and prayers. Our wedding house guests will leave the following weekend and then next week the moving company starts boxing everything up. There is little time for goodbyes now, though the next month will be full of them. Life is happy and a little sad and exhausting but oh so good.
I’ll send a reflection on Esther’s graduation next and some pictures from that trip.
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