Big Decision

As most of you know, we have been planning a move to Virginia for a long time now.  These have not been pie-in-the sky, hopeless dreamer type thoughts.  Chris actually changed jobs within Shell to facilitate the move, and last summer, we prepped the house and put it on the market.  We came close to selling twice only to have the buyers go elsewhere.  So we settled back into life in Kingwood last fall with a plan to try again after the school year.  Our agent's advice this time around was to put in new counter tops.  The market is slow, people want things ready-to-go, and by the way, she knew "a guy".  Luís installed granite for much less than I would have guessed it would cost and the counters are beautiful.
In the end though, Chris and I found ourselves dragging our feet about putting the For Sale sign back in the yard.  On my part, it wasn't due to doubts about Virginia being the place for us in the long run.  But our initial determination to move came from a real need caused by serious struggles we were facing as a family.  As the dust settled and things got better, I realized there was no hurry and that there are a quite a few things in the "pro" column about our Texas life.
First, are the friends we have made.  We have met families through home schooling, through St. Martha's and even through the swim team.  Our TEAMS friends are irreplaceable.  They are such a source of support and strength.  And they have absolutely reinforced my belief that we Catholics have the most fun.
Then there are our neighbors.  Two doors down, is a family that fits with ours in so many ways.  But we have great neighbors on all sides.  Neighbors with kids and neighbors without.  I really love where we live.  It is the best kept secret in Kingwood.
Other pros include Houston itself.  It is the easiest city to navigate that I've ever lived in, and it has anything and everything.  I love hearing Spanish everywhere I go.  I love that the beach is so close and that we have all kinds of home schooling opportunities*.  I love having a job.
And, like Dorothy's beloved Scarecrow, our "best of all" reason to stay here is the close connection we have with G & G Doyle.  They live 6.1 miles away (according to Chris' GPS running watch), and the kids go running up to hug them everytime we see them.  (The occasional weekend away for me and Chris while they babysit is definitely the icing.)
So, after much deliberation, we decided to stay awhile.  We briefly considered a move within Kingwood--despite our awesome neighborhood--because our house has been too small for us for awhile.  Instead, I lobbied for clearing our closets and making better use of the space we have.  Some of the money we'll save by not moving, we're putting into a few house projects.  I'll post pictures over the next couple of weeks.
This whole stressful process has reminded me of the adage, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."  In my younger days, I loved change for its own sake.  Big changes always held the promise of clean slates and problems forgotten.  That strategy worked alright back then but these days, I find myself reluctant to let go of the bird I know.  I want to be careful and thoughtful before I give away what I have now for something "better".  I also have a personal motto around blooming and finding happiness where I am.  For me, happiness is more something to be practiced than sought.  And the bottom line is, we at Casa Doyle need to stop pedaling and coast a bit, enjoy life for awhile before managing another big change.  Oh--and we'll be sure to listen for the birdsong.

*There are big changes coming for The Doyle All Girls Academy next year.  All of the girls except for Ella will be attending Holy House one full day a week.  Holy House is a catholic home school apostolate run by volunteers.  At Holy House, Madeleine, Mia, Grace and Sophie will be doing just about everything except math.  Before I found out that they all had spots there, I also signed them up for Super Friday, a half-day program run by the large protestant home school group here in Kingwood.  Mia and Grace were able to choose their Super Friday classes--things like mosaic and jewelry making, American Girl Doll Class and Photography.  They were so excited about that that I think we're going to do both.  Sophie and Ella both have spots in the classes for kids their age and Madeleine and I may just go for coffee and a little shopping every Friday morning :)  I'm feeling very grateful.