Shades of Green

When I first found out we were moving, I spent months anticipating how amazing life was going to be once we relocated.  I focused on warmer weather, being within reach of family, better schools, and of course, warmer weather (for the amount of time I thought about the sun, it deserves to be mentioned twice). 

Along the way, my focus turned into something different altogether.  It didn't take long for 'amazing' to morph into 'everything' and our lives *according to me in my head* seemed to take off and expand everywhere.  You name it, I thought it.  Complete strangers would open their arms and embrace me upon our first meeting, I envisioned myself surrounded by a tribe of women that I could have coffee and run 20 miles with.  We would all have amazing play dates at the park and live on the same street, watch each other's children when needed...In other words...I became a parody on Saturday Night Live- affirming to myself that yes, I was smart enough, I was good enough, and doggone it, people liked me! 

Is there such a thing as too much positive thinking?

Admittedly, much of my thinking was pretty out there and I awoke to a hard dose of reality when we arrived.  Geography may change, but life remains the same and familiar problems pop up sooner or later.   It's not all unattainable though.  It just takes a little more work than I had thought. Finding someone to run 20 miles with might take awhile.  A girl can dream I guess...

So next time I start my Stuart Smalley routine, I'm going to try and remember not to concentrate on whether the grass is greener, but recognize that it will just be a different shade of green.  Or in our case, a light shade of brown due to the lack of moisture! 

This shade-whether it's brown or green-is still pretty awesome even on a normal day beginning at breakfast.

Each morning, Baby O and I run to the 'retired' caboose down by the train tracks-he loves it!  Please note that he is also holding his favorite Thomas the Train book.

The Kindergarten Johnny Appleseed parade was a big success.  They all wore pots on their head and spread imaginary seeds to all the students who stood in the hallways cheering them on and giving them high fives.  Boy O felt like a million bucks.

Stuart Smalley/Al Franken photo obtained from: http://kendrickbrix.com/2009/01/06/stuart-smalley-gets-affirmation/