Oak Tree in an Acorn: Home Sweet Home

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Home Sweet Home

Well, it's been two months since I've posted, and believe me, life for the Banisters hasn't stood still since Feb. 4, 2009. "Free time" has been put towards updating and cleaning our house in preparation for selling it. Now, we sit and wait....well, we clean and wait is more like it. We've only had it on the market for two weeks, and it's still ours, but it doesn't feel like ours anymore. Most of the girls' toys have been sold or put into storage; we've had to hide anything remotely religious, and we're lucky if we can find a pen to write with. Our junk drawer isn't even "junky" anymore; now that's a first!

It is nice to live simply again. When I left for college, I had some pots and pans from my Grandma, some clothes, and a couple of towels. My parents went and bought me a desk at Walmart once we got to Austin. I'm sure it was pretty much the same for Brian. How did we collect so much stuff over the last 17 years?

With this move, I'm really not missing the stuff, and haven't even felt the need to go and get anything from the storage unit, but what I do miss is the comfort of having a home. We are keeping it straight, nice and neat for someone else, not for ourselves. I like that it's clean, but I don't like having to put out a set of "show" towels, instead of the ones we really use. I don't like telling the girls we can't play with the playdough in the fear that it will be too messy, or telling them that we can't play in the sandbox because sand always tracks its way back to the house. Sometimes the best learning takes place while making a mess! I don't like having to hide my rosary. I'm not complaining, just biding my time until we can live in our home again, whether that home is here, in an apartment, or at our future house.

The bluebonnets in our yard which Brian and I planted from our wedding favors are just blossoming all over, and even though we're enjoying them, it's bittersweet knowing we're leaving them behind when we move. We are happy that someone else will enjoy them. We have awesome neighbors. It's hard to leave the Surles and Green families, knowing that we won't be as close and we won't share in the happenings of their lives like we do now; they are like family. We are excited about our new place, but we will miss this house because it was our first real home together as a family. It's the only home our girls have ever known.

1 comment:

Meg said...: I know what you mean about leaving your home. I was really not happy about leaving the house that I brought my babies home to, but it's honestly been less difficult than I feared. I know this is so much better for them, so that makes it easier. Also, we don't miss it as much knowing that y'all are also leaving. Hope to see you this weekend!; April 7, 2009 at 8:19 PM

Post a Comment

Why the title, "Oak Tree in an Acorn"?

Well, really it's all about perspective when raising the girls. It helps me to think about the grand scheme of parenting and remember that what we do now affects how our little acorns will grow. Like an oak tree, we want them to be strong in their words and deeds, be able to withstand life's storms, set and reach their goals, and be people that others can lean on and trust.

We have an oak tree planted in our yard that came from an acorn my dad planted in a pot. This acorn came from a huge oak tree that was planted in the backyard of my dad's childhood home. My dad's father also planted this tree from an acorn he found on his hunting lease in the early 1960's. Our tree is thus a family heirloom, a "family tree".

It was the year of Olivia's birth when we planted our little sapling. It looked so very sad that winter with no leaves; it was, basically, like a stick rooted in the ground. Five years later, though, it stands 9 feet tall, and we continue to nurture it and watch it grow. We hope one year it will produce acorns of its own, and we can continue to pass on this family heirloom. We hope to remember it's example of how each acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, and how our acorns, Olivia and Genevieve, will one day, with help from God, become mighty oak trees themselves.