Family Progress

We are still here, in America. We would have done so many things differently had we known... Hindsight. Good stuff right? We are still in the middle of this crazy process that involves several people and ends with us getting back to Japan. We can't really divulge the details yet...

What I can do is focus on the now, which is what we have been doing since we got back. Well, we sort of spent the first two weeks moping and acclimating to the time change, then we started focusing on the now. We had some major questions to answer - where to live, what to drive, what to do with ourselves and the kids. The challenge in answering any of those questions was not knowing how long we'd be here. We were hoping it was just for a few weeks. Now we are into our third month. I have struggled, feeling like a bit of a let down. Here we are, in our thirties, living off the goodwill of others and really not contributing much to society. We have two kids to think about. It is not as if it is just Jason and I and we can live in our cars, skip brushing, and live out some bohemian dream. We have responsibilities. But here's the thing - those responsibilities are so much of why we did this in the first place. We wanted more time with them, quality time that we weren't stressed, exhausted, angry, etc. We decided to measure our success by the solidity of our family as opposed to the numbers in our bank account and the types of cars we were driving. I know, I've said all this before. It is so much easier to really follow it and believe it when we are not in the face of materialism, commercialism, and worst of all, CHRISTMAS! Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but I really dislike the whole trend of going into debt to buy gifts for people that they may or may not use, don't need, and will forget about in a few months time.

The gist of this blog is this - I've been judging us. I've been putting a negative spin on our situation in my head. People that were originally supportive are looking at us and saying things to the effect of - "Enough already, time to get a job" and "Really? What were you thinking anyway?". We were thinking that this was a great opportunity to be with our kids. And guess what? We are having a great time. This is the first year that Jason has slept in on Black Friday in umpteen years! He not only got to sleep in that day, but every other day too! He is not working 75 hours a week in the retail machine, only to come home too tired to be a family man. Instead, we are achieving the very success we set out for (albeit, in a totally different way than we had thought). We are reading more with the kids, taking daily walks, talking about the great mysteries of life (such as the variety of ways that Jason has managed to hurt himself. This topic never bores Lily). The gist is - we're okay. This isn't what we planned, but the end is in sight. We will be back on track and back in Japan sooner than later. In the meantime, we are enjoying our children.

Just think, in a few years we will be some of their least favorite people (for a short period anyway). We are getting to immerse ourselves in them now, while they still like us! We are saving the 70 hour work weeks for when they aren't speaking to us, or are just too big and busy to cuddle anymore. We are not making any career progress, but our family progress is immeasurable.

Comments

  1. JeniferDecember 8, 2011 at 5:13 AM

    Oh Tawnya woman, this post was just what I needed to read! First of all, I admire your ability to see what you have -family & time to spend with them - as your blessing. It inspires me to do the same and be grateful for my family and not all this crazy christmas shopping. Keep up the post, whether they're inspirational or not, whether you're in Japan or not.... Love to read 'em.

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