We're very lucky.
Jack is the sort of child
we all assume we'll have
when we decide to have children,
and the sort of child
less experienced parents
congratulate themselves for.January and February 2004
March and April 2004
May and June 2004
July and August 2004
September and October 2004
November and December 2004
Blogs we read:
Friday, Dec. 09, 2005 - (Mamma)
Winter's Here!
Winter has well and truly arrived, with recent temperatures around -20c and 20cm of snow predicted for last night. It definitely snowed -- and is still snowling at 6am, but whether we got the full amount, I won't know for a while yet.
Like his Mamma and Dad, Jack really loves winter. He has been having a blast slogging through the snow exploring its varied textures -- when it's "mild" (near 0) the snow has a mushy, wet consistency. When it's as cold as it was yesterday, the snow crunches and squeeks when you walk on it. All of that is newly fascinating to Jack -- and, of course, it's fascinating for me to watch him explore!
Last weekend, Jack and Rod played Santa and Head Elf for my company's Children's Holiday Party.
They had a blast! Jack wandered around and explored and periodically went back to watch the loooong line of kids waiting in line to sit on "Santa's" lap. Of course, the Santa part was lost on Jack, and he was amazed and pleased that hundreds of kids would "wait their turn" to sit on his Dad's lap -- and he graciously didn't "cut in", though he made it clear that Dad's lap was actually his domain. He was just sharing.
Back at Samhain, Rod announced that our plans had changed. We no longer have immediate plans to move back to Australia.
At first I was stunned. I have, after all, spent four years preparing physically and emotionally to make a new life there "pretty soon".
But his reasons are sound.
First, our attempts to save money have not been going anywhere. Every time we get a nice cushion to start building a moving fund, we get a $900 car repair bill, a $2000 dentist bill, or...well, something. And it wouldn't make a lot of sense for us to give up everything we have here and move to Australia homeless and penniless. Sure, it might go OK ... but it's not smart.
Second, Jack, while extremely welcome, he was not a factor we took into account when we made our five year plan.
Because he's been raising Jack, Rod hasn't had the opportunity to do what he came here to do. Jack is now getting old enough and portable enough for Rod to start to get back to his own projects and it makes sense to give him the time to do that.
So, we're staying here. Probably not forever -- once we have the money socked away, we can revisit our plan. I will be able to retire from my current job in 2014 -- maybe that would be a good time for the move?
Anyway, as I said, I was shocked at first...but fairly quickly I got excited. If we're staying here, then this never-ending stasis can end and we can settle down.
Our apartment, while lovely and comfortable for a single, middle-aged Grandma, is a bit cramped for a family of three. But it never made sense to incur moving expenses for what would be a short term gain.
Now that we're staying, we've been looking at this:
We'll be making an offer on it as soon as we can get the financing settled. (Assuming this one is still available.)
(It seems that while life is calmer and happier this way, a credit score of zero (not owing anything to anyone) can be a bit of a hassle when its time to buy a house. I'd been warned about that -- but I'm sure we can work something out.)
When I look at this house, I keep seeing "the perfect place for Jack to grow up".
It has space enough for Jack to have his own room -- it has a huge, fenced yard and a creek next door. Perfect for a boy to explore! It has a big porch on which to learn to ride a tricycle. Along the creek is a little foot path that leads a mile back to a park with a play structure. It has fruit trees in the back yard. The kitchen is big enough for all of us to work in at once.
And best of all (for me, anyway), it reminds me of the place I have long thought of us home.
It's much bigger than the house in which my grandparents brought up my father and his brothers and sisters -- but it has features that feel very similar and make me feel all warm and cozy.
Of course, the more practical stuff works, too. The mortgage should come out about the same as the rent we're paying, and we already pay all of our utilities, so it's not a large added expense.
The tax breaks will mean extra funds for saving, for seeing our families, or for those $900 gotchas. And the growing equity is savings for a downpayment on a house when we do move to Australia.
Well, it's good to be back -- but now I have to shower and go to work. Maybe waking up at 5:30 will let me get back to blogging. But are you still there?
Holiday Adventures
A New Plan
