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And so, this summer Matt and I started talking about scaling back. Thought it might be worth a try to put our home on the market and downsize, stop trying to keep up with the Joneses. We know the market is not ideal, but the Tyler Durden quote from Fight Club has repeatedly come to mind as we’re repairing something else around the house, reorganizing another cabinet or painting another wall instead of enjoying people in our lives.
“The things you own end up owning you.”
We love our house, our pool, the yard and even the neighborhood, but the truth is these are things and while they might bring us pleasure, they also bring us grief. A mortgage that we’ll forever be “growing into,” a yard that needs edging and substantial treatment for weeds and 2800+ square feet under the roof to maintain. As our children get older, we are realizing that if we’re going to lead the active lifestyle we’d like with them, something is going to have to give. Laundry alone is a full time job and we both work more than full time.
Of course when we purchased the house I was working at Bolton and the drive was perfect. A quick 15 minutes up the road and I was there. There was an elementary school right in the next neighborhood over that was a feeder for my high school. Everything lined right up.
We added the pool and had the bonus room built after a couple of years, Evan was born a week or so after the pool was completed (April 2006) and a little over a month later I was making calls to transfer to another high school because of downsizing. I was fortunate to get a position at the new high school just a little further away and not the one that would have meant a 45 minute drive to and from on a good day. Besides, I was going to do something completely new and I could lay the foundation for a new program and end up spending more evenings with my boys since I wouldn’t be working a theatre director’s hours. There was a little mourning involved, sure. I had spent six years being groomed to step up when my mentor retired, but as with any change, it gave me a decision to make. I chose the positive. I love my new school, the students, my new colleagues and friends and am so grateful for the opportunity I was given. I know it was for the best and my time with Debbie was preparing me for this new experience.
We enrolled Lucas in sporting activities in the new community so his transition to the elementary school might be more seamless and now that he is in kindergarten, Matt drives 45 minutes out of his way every morning so Lucas can attend the elementary school that feeds to my high school. It’s important for us that the kids have that stability of being in the same schools, so we do it and we don’t complain. But we knew pretty quickly that it’s not going to work forever. Initially we thought we’d put in about 8 years of it and then we really thought about that. Why? So we can get our money’s worth out of the pool. Really?
What if we happened to find just the right buyer? Could happen. Knock on wood, we’ve been fortunate with selling houses in the past. Besides, if we don’t, we don’t have to give it away; we can stay here a bit longer. We keep returning to, “it’s worth a shot.” Matt called a couple realtors a month or so ago. Seems that homes with pools sell best starting in the Spring.
As if we didn’t have enough reasons (some of which I have failed to mention here), we were given another last week. Nothing like the fragility of life to give you a wake up call. Perhaps the seed of change was planted for a purpose. Sure makes it a little easier to uproot when you realize how quickly it could all vanish anyway.
This summer during one of our few lovely Ladies Only swims (Thursdays) my art teacher friends were talking to me about a new benefit of our insurance. It’s a place called Lifesigns and they do a comprehensive physical for the cost of a copayment. I mentioned it to Matt since we had both been looked at like we had two heads when we had asked our general practitioner about a physical a few years ago. He didn’t understand why we wanted one. We thought it would be a good idea since we probably haven’t had one since we were TWELVE. Matt asked me to make him an appointment. He just turned forty; perfect timing. I did and he went.
Matt is going to be fine, but we have just learned that he was born with a heart condition called a bicuspid aortic valve. He’ll need a heart valve replacement. With this condition, instead of having three leaflets to keep blood from flowing back into the heart, he just has two and there’s quite a bit of leaking. After the initial EKG (echocardiogram that’s like an ultrasound) the doctor performed a TEE (transesophageal echocardiogram where a tiny camera gets put in) today to explore the extent of the damage and confirm his initial prognosis. We don’t know when he’ll need surgery; right now we are just watching and waiting. We’ve heard between one and five years and also inside of ten years, but the truth is, we just don’t know.
How about that for preventative medicine?!
Anyone wanna buy a really great house?
What better way to celebrate the day we wed than with the family that came out of that union? We took a trip downtown to The Farmer’s Market and enjoyed a ride on the trolley to check out how the city’s shaping up these days. We caught the trolley across from the infamous Earnestine and Hazel’s.
Though Beale Street Landing is fraught with controversy, it promises to be a great addition to the downtown area. What major city doesn’t need a beautiful riverfront?
For lunch we opted to go to Huey’s, which coincidentally, was where I ate the night I went out with my aunt and happened to meet my future husband.
We drove by The Junior League house on Central Avenue, where our reception was held. I took pictures out the window.
Then, since we were in the neighborhood we drove by the first home we owned. We had a more subtle color for the trim when we inhabited it, just for the record. We loved this little hybrid ranch/bungalow with it’s fifties style kitchen (complete with white metal cabinets) and the gorgeous hardwoods throughout.
Happened by The Dixon Galleries, where we had one of our initial three dates. We’ve not been back; perhaps we should return soon.
By this time we were way south of our afternoon plans and so we circled by our third (purchased) home together. The second one is in Columbus, Ohio, so it was well off the beaten trail. While we liked the house, the actual living space was small and the commute for me was rough, so we moved just after Lucas was born. We loved this wooded lot, but not the task of staining the house every couple of years. Doesn’t look like the new owner enjoys it much either.
It was so fun to see the Jessamine on the front of the house that we planted and also the Hummingbird vine from Grandma Sue’s yard still around the mail box.
Our afternoon was full of fun too, but you’ll have to wait for another post to see what we did. There are too many pictures to group it all together.
It’s eleven years, if you’re counting.
We have a connection to this church since this is where Mama Jane attends and we always hit up their outdoor events in the fall. We got a little respite from the rain (though not enough to have the event at it’s regular location at their sports complex) so we went for it.
We bumped into The Young’s and hung out with them for most of the evening. Things have been busy for all of us (especially them) and they boys have really missed one another. Evan was off with Matt doing a moon bounce and Jake was waiting in line to climb a rock wall.
He must have stood there while waiting in line for a solid full minute with his hands like this. Too funny.
Evan’s first pony ride.
Lucas has been on ponies before, and even got to ride a horse, thanks to our dear friend, Leanne. He’s an old pro. 
Dinner time…winding down from all the excitement. LIstening to some Coffey Anderson and my former student, Robby.
Thank goodness, Mike spotted us. We were starting to worry we wouldn’t run into any Nason’s or Mama Jane! She snuck up behind Lucas and when he turned around to greet her he just couldn’t set his drink down fast enough to “hug her neck.”
In the event you haven’t heard of Coffey Anderson, here are a few links and videos to pique your interest: soul, pop, Christian…you name it. He’s having a good time and he’s talented for sure!
Fairs + children = good times.
We had to almost FORCE Lucas to ride this one and check out that expression.
The Amazing Armando was quite entertaining. Matt and I kinda looked at each other like, “Is this the day we scar our children forever by having them witness this man plummet to his death?”
It might be difficult to tell here, but that woman is inside this globe with two speeding motorcycles circling her like Saturn’s rings.
We watched jousting for a few minutes. This horse was easily the largest I’ve ever seen. I wish I had gotten the name of the breed.
No blood…what do you think is really going on here with this metal rod? It sure looked like he put it into his arm right in front of us.
I suppose the pictures speak for themselves. These poor kids never have any fun.
We made it over to Shelby Forest Saturday for our first camping excursion of the season. This time we elected to go alone, which we have never done before. The boys are old enough to entertain one another and it was so nice to just be a foursome in the woods and completely “unplug” for 24 hours. I needed the rest.
Our humble campsite.
Look how delightfully filthy Evan got!
We had to cut out on Sunday morning quite a bit sooner than we intended. The natives drove us out (mosquitoes & chiggers) so we were unable to go for a nature hike. Because of this, this delicate little wildflower was the only splash of natural color besides green or brown we saw.
We’re all looking forward to going again as soon as possible. It is one activity that we all equally enjoy.
I mentioned before how excited we are about the changes we’re seeing at our city’s major park. Well, just as I predicted to Matt about a month ago, the Conservancy has big plans as is evidenced by this announcement:
Great news since this is quickly becoming our destination of choice as the boys get more active. I cannot wait to ride the trails with them someday. It’ll be a different park by then and by the time they are ready for that, I’ll be a beast on my bicycle; ready for anything they could throw my way! For now though, we walk and I get to take some photos and practice shooting on the fly. It’s so easy for me to be still while we’re here. Not so much for the boys (including Matt).
Mom , Dad and Grandma Sue came over for a Day Trip from Henderson Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect and we were able to sit comfortably outside. San Diego weather, if you will.
At the start of the swim, Evan copied Lucas’s move of jumping off the deck into the pool backwards and failed to jump OUT. He caught his chin in exactly the correct position to prevent an ER visit., but it was a scary ten minutes that could have clouded the entire day even without an emergency hospital visit. Mom persuaded Dad to take a swim and the boys had a blast.
Grandma is doing well. Her eye surgery went well and she looks like herself again. She didn’t have a lot to talk about, but it’s been a rough couple of months. Her sister, GeorgiaAnne has late stage lung cancer, and Onnie is having huge problems.GeorgiaAnne’s husband has Alzheimer’s. Just overnight this all happened. They were fine and then poof.
We grabbed a pizza and got some disposable camera pictures developed. Yes, my Mom has a Canon Rebel and when Lucas was there for 5 days, she never could remember to bring it along. We got updates about Lucas through Razr camera emails. This camera had shot of him holding an alligator at the Alligator Park they visited together. Evan’s not quite ready so we’ve had to wait to go.
We learned just this weekend that Lucas shot a BB gun during that trip. Looks like he can keep a secret or something; this was mid-July. Good for him. My Dad is THE MAN. He’s always so slow and steady that I am put at ease that he’s covering all the details. I love that I don’t have an actual picture of this. Isn’t that funny? I can imagine what it must have been like. Maybe Lucas can just remember on his own instead of relying on a scrapbook.
I sure hope so, since I am not doing a very good job of keeping up these days. Just kidding. It will all work out as it’s meant to. I am quite enjoying the limited freedom I’ve had to settle back into spin class and enjoy riding my bike through the neighborhoods nearby.
Oh, almost forgot. Look what it appears that Lucas now has to go back there for:
Yes, to the left of my Dad’s left foot (on his new? favorite loveseat!) is the box for a Lego system that I have never before seen. Good thing we’ll be visiting over Labor Day weekend! Have to make up for missing July 4th this year. This will be a great time! Can’t wait.
Our little artist has had his work on display at The Memphis College of Art for the past week. The closing reception was this afternoon and we made the trip to Midtown to see it.
Here is Lucas with his teacher, Ms. Danita. Behind them are the products of the sculpture class, which inspired him to try his had at Sculpey (my favorite!). He might just have to enroll in that class next summer. This year he took Drawing & Painting for two weeks.
Downstairs there was a table with brownies, cookies, bottled waters and Capri Suns. Just your typical art show fare. We sat for the slide show of pictures and this how Lucas represented.
We had a houseful here to celebrate Matt’s fortieth birthday. What started as a small idea of Greg’s to either come here or host us in Atlanta turned into “party central.” In attendance: Greg, Pam, Matt, Michael, Jake, Molly, Emily, Lucia and Matt’s Mom, Phyllis. He worked a half day on Friday and we decorated the entire hearth room/eat in kitchen area so he’d walk into the celebration.
Some things just get better with age. Thanks, family, for making this a weekend to remember!
We had a late breakfast and packed a picnic lunch and went to visit The Pink Palace as an entire family unit starting at 1:00 on Sunday afternoon. Matt hadn’t had a chance to be there since he has a year-round job. It was a quick run-through, since the kids had been pretty recently, and we then headed over to Shelby Farms. It was, hands down, the most relaxing afternoon ever. All the stars were in alignment, I suppose.
Oh, did I mention it was Evan’s second day out in big boy underwear? Success! We planned to move from the pasture area over to the playground, just in time to catch the ice cream truck! Nothing makes a good day better faster than that!
We were delighted to discover a brand new bathroom facility that replaced a porta-potty near the main playground. Contrary to what you might infer from an above photo, we do like to maintain certain societal expectations. A good bit of the playground that has fallen into disrepair has been removed and the rest of the playground area still needs an upgrade so we didn’t stay there long before heading into the woods to explore along the trails (my favorite). One of the trails goes around a little lake and ends at a lakeside playground. You know a good time was had by all when, after three or four hours, the kids still want to stay. We are so excited about the Conservancy that now manages the Park and have faith in their efforts to transform this oasis within our county.
