Tag: new home

Posted in Moments and Musings

Three Months Later…

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Hello all! I’m back from a bit of a break. Three months, to be exact. I didn’t plan it and I certainly haven’t been idle. These months have been a bit crazy.

So first, I moved into a new home. It takes time to settle into a new space. From unpacking to repacking stuff you thought you needed but now realize you can live without to decorating, it’s all very joyful, very tiring and very time consuming. There are new routines to discover and build. I moved to a completely new area so I’m learning my way around the town. I am adjusting to a new work from home space. My dog also needed some TLC as he sniffed and smelled his way around his new digs. I’m living with family members I haven’t lived with for years and years and while we get along, living with them is definitely different from visiting with them. We moved closer to my dad and stepmom so that was also an adjustment. I’m even adjusting to new weather patterns as weather here on the south side tends to be a bit more dramatic than what I’ve been used to. Isn’t that something?

Then the cicadas came. Boy, did they ever. My neighborhood was swarmed with them. They covered our trees, flew in our faces and were so very loud. I’m not a huge bug fan so this was not fun for me at all. Each morning, I rose early to get Percy out on his first long walk of the day while they were still clicking away in their sleep. Once they woke up, it was a quick run out, praying for Percy to be quick about his business before heading into the garage to shake myself down, not wanting to invite any of these things into my new home. I managed but my poor sister didn’t fare as well. After doing some gardening, she brought one into the house, clinging precariously to her jeans. Thankfully, my older sister was able to quickly show it the door. In steamy hot temperatures, I covered myself head to toe each time to walk Percy and even then, I still had to pull a few off of me. I hate bugs! I hate cicadas!

Shelby’s hours changed and since I’m her ride to and from work, my sleep hours changed as well. She went from working 8pm to 630am to 5am to 130pm. I get up at 4am now during the week which I’m not a fan of. But I am a fan of Shelby (😊) so I endure. It’s actually been good for our bank accounts as before, we were running through Stan’s Donuts, Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks on the way home when she got off at 630am. We no longer do that as many places are still closed at 430am when we’re leaving. So yay for more money. We only have about 6 different ways to make and enjoy coffee here in our new home so why we still feel we need to buy coffee out is beyond me. Yet, I do it as often as I can.

Coffee and yarn are two pleasure purchases for me. I can never have enough of either.

Shelby and I found a new church – yes, even that changed for us. I love meeting new people and then I don’t like meeting new people. I always feel like I wear everything that’s wrong with me on the outside, like a paper tag clipped to clothing. And it all points to them deciding I’m not worth knowing. Ah…the fear of rejection. Someday, this too shall be conquered within my soul, and I’ll be the beaming ray of sunshine I long to be without any hesitation or hindrance. So far, the only way I know to overcome this is to dive into the deep end, put myself out there and just be me.

I’ve also been crocheting a lot. I haven’t touched an embroidery needle since we moved. I’ve bought patterns but there’s been no actual execution. Crochet, planning crochet, buying yarn, and looking up new patterns has been a huge focus for me at the moment.

And then, as if that wasn’t enough, I treated myself to a Nintendo Switch Lite. I bought the game Animal Crossing; New Horizons. What a time suck!! But so much fun!!! I struggle with enjoying things like this because I always feel I SHOULD be productive, even in my down time. I tend to be pretty hard on myself so giving myself permission to do something fun like this has been…well…nice. I’m enjoying it.

So, what’s next? Getting back to Friday Fives, because they’re conversational and I like a good quiz. Posts showing more crochet projects and what I’m working on. I went on a small trip recently that was really fun and informative. And some personal news to share as soon as I’m able.

Until then, have faith in God that everything’s going to be ok, give yourself some love because you deserve it and find joy in imperfect things (and people).

Posted in Moments and Musings

This New Season

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

A few short years ago, both my girls were planning to get a place of their own. I sat looking through apartment listings (just for fun), looking at one-bedroom places and dreaming of how I would decorate it without any input from anyone else. I pinned meals “for the single gal” to my Pinterest page and thought about how grand it would be to have the whole TV all to myself.

I could do what I wanted when I wanted. The ultimate single life.

We moved in here and shortly after, Emilie got married. And then there were two.

Emilie has always been my “big idea” girl. Big dreams. Bigger plans. So full of sparkling conversation. She outwardly expresses everything and this lead to hours upon hours of endless chatter. She filled my days with talking. I honestly can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t talking. So many late night talks, some full of fear but most filled with faith and a lot of tears.

But Shelby isn’t like that. She doesn’t have huge dreams.

Shelby works an overnight job and sleeps during the day. She has her own set of nerdy friends she prefers to spend time with, which is very normal for a girl like her. I want to give her that
space. I don’t want her to feel like she’s her mother’s entertainment committee. The few times she’s decided to spend her day with me has been a gift and I’ve made the most of it. Her big ambition right now is to work, make some money, and play video games with her friends. Even when she is with me, she’s quiet. There’s never been a ton of conversation that’s
happened between us.

So, my home when from being loud to being very quiet.

In the beginning, I took advantage of it. But it wasn’t long before conversations with Jesus
turned into mindless chatter with either myself or with the dog. (He doesn’t ever engage. He usually just licks himself and finds a new comfortable space on my chair.)

Now, that season is ending. I just bought a house with my sister. And my other sister (there’s four of us girls in my family) will be moving in with us along with Shelby. My very quiet, boring existence is about to be replaced with conversation and activity once more.

I can’t wait!

Moving to my current home was a huge blessing. We moved right in the middle of 2020 from a super small apartment to this one. My old apartment was only a mile away from the home we shared with my mom for 12 years. It was the home that healed us from a painful divorce. It was my mother’s house and for 12 years, we were secure and stable.

Then we lost her and everything changed.

The two years we spent in that first apartment after she died were so full of grief and pain and adjustment and just emptiness. We had no family nearby. My girls and I clung to each other and together, we held onto Jesus. But that grief – it was so hard to heal. I remember when we moved into this place, it almost felt like I was leaving my grief behind. So much closer to my sister, this place gave me breathing room, and not just literally.

It changed everything.

Being close to people who I loved and who loved me was the healing balm I needed. We healed together, in a way. God blessed us so much in this place and in this current season.

God gave me this season and I have not squandered it.

But now it’s time for the next step in my life. To go back to living in a space where I can put color on my walls and have my own laundry (it’s the little things). I won’t just be close to family; I’ll be living with family and closest I’ve been to my dad and stepmom in decades.

The challenge now is to stay in an attitude of gratitude. I’ve got just under 2 months until we move into our house – hopefully, our forever home.

Seasonal transitions are hard because the closer you get to the new season, the less tolerant you are of the season you’re in. It’s easy to get edgy and start to dislike what once was a blessing.

I’m determined not to let that happen to me. I love my home. I love every minute here. And before I leave, I want to pray over it, touch each wall and walk its floors one more time. I want to leave a bit of Jesus here. I want the next family to feel peace, love, comfort, and healing when they want through the door – just as I did.

When I get to my new home, I’ll do the same. Touch the walls. Walk the floors. Speak Jesus to it all. This home was a home of healing but the next home…that will be a home full of joy!

Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash