Half a Year (Give or Take...)

So, I was just counting on my fingers, and it seems as though we have been living in Pennsylvania for a little over six months now. We moved in August, and it's March...so...what's that...like, 7 months?

Hard to believe.


Hard to believe we are still not entirely unpacked. Hard to believe that I am still slowly (slowly, slowly, slowly) painting walls, with apparently no end in sight. Hard to believe that I still haven't found someone local to cut my hair. And that I'm still not 100 percent sure if the capital of this state is Harrisburg or Harrisonburg (google: it's Harrisburg), and that I couldn't pick the governor out of a lineup.

BUT, if you ignore all of those things (which, clearly, I do), well--I've come a long way, baby!!

I know how to get to Walmart without getting lost. And, even more impressively, I am now able to walk though that Walmart without falling into a fit of giggles when I run into an Amish dude (complete with straw hat) in the toilet paper aisle. (I still giggle...just in a very restrained way.)

In fact, the other day I passed a buggy on the road, and instead of screaming and pointing with glee, I--get this--I grumbled a little. It's like I really live here or something!

We've also settled into this place in ways I had a hard time imagining six months ago: we've found a church that we love (hallelujah!), we've made gloriously wonderful friends with our neighbors (I know! Right? Who has neighbors that they actually LIKE??), we've gotten all of the boxes out of our dining room (never thought I'd see the day!), and we've survived a winter! (Well, almost survived. Almost. Apparently, it's not over yet. BUT, I'm seeing crocuses and occasional bits of green here and there...so even though I'm still huddled next to my space heater, I'm going to say we made it through.) --No need to cue the Barry Manilow unless you really want to. Your choice.

(But--full disclosure--I, myself, just had a Barry moment: "When friends are hard to find, And life seems so unkind..." Ahh, Barry. You are so wise in your ultimate cheesiness.)

I'm sure there's lots more I could say about how we're doing at the half-year(ish) point, but the fact is, the feelings fluctuate like mad. Sometimes I feel like I finally know what I'm doing, other times I can't believe we are such newbies.

We've got some friends who are moving up here this weekend (also from South Carolina), and even though they'll still be two hours away in Pittsburgh, I feel like we'll have a lot of notes to compare. I'm thinking about her today as the moving van is loaded up with all of their stuff, and I'm remembering the day our stuff somehow miraculously all fit into our moving van. I'm remembering how hot and sweaty and surreal that day was, and I'm remembering the feeling of driving up here, thinking, "What the bleep are doing?"

Looking back, I'm amazed at how far we've come since that grueling and exhausting day. And I love looking up and down my street and seeing friends and neighbors instead of strangers. I pray for my friend that her transition is fast and easy and that they feel Home Sweet Home before too long.

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. (Psalm 16:6)

'Cause when I chased my fears away, That's when I knew that I could finally say: I made it throooough the rain, and found myself respected by the others whoooo got rained on too. (Barry)