the trade-ins

If you are a somewhat regular reader of this blog, you know that recent events and circumstances have caused us to sell our condo and move in my with my parents. The move is mostly done. Everything that has to go to storage is now in a packed-to-the-gills storage unit. Everything that had to be moved to my parents has been moved and unpacked and put in its place. Everything else has found its way to the Good Will. Josephine is back on a somewhat normal schedule, as are Caleb and I. A new routine is already taking form as we share grocery-buying and meal-cooking, the laundry room and the common areas. We get along great with my parents and open communication helps when things aren't working or need to be tweaked. I think its going to work out really well (and I mean that, I'm not just saying that because my mom reads my blog. Hi Mom!).

Here's the summary:

We traded in a tiny patio for a nice yard where Lucy can play.
We traded in two master bedrooms for three non-master bedrooms and a bathroom.
We traded in a one-sink bathroom for a two-sink bathroom. (Its revolutionary).
We traded in a crappy shower head for a really nice high-pressure shower head.
Caleb traded in sharing his office with the baby (which didn't really work) to sharing his office with my mom's crafting supplies.
We traded in Josie's cute blue and green room for my mom's cute African-themed guest room.
Lucy traded in tormenting only Caleb and I to tormenting Caleb and I AND my parents' cat Morris. She's SUCH a happy dog.
We traded in obnoxious neighbors for quiet and respectful ones.
I traded in having to call my mom for crafting and cooking questions to just asking her while she sits in the next room.

We traded in not having a fountain in our front yard to:

We traded in sharing walls with neighbors and far-away parking spaces ...

to no shared walls and parking right in front (especially nice when bringing home groceries).

And by the way, we traded in Caleb's beloved 2-seater pick-up ...

for a new beloved, and more family friendly, 7-seater Pathfinder.

So you see, there's a lot to be said for moving in with the 'rents. And its not just us that's enjoying the shared space ... my parents are now enjoying a big-screen HDTV and a granddaughter to love on whenever they want. My mom and I are both enjoying having a couple nights a week where we're not responsible for dinner, and shared cleaning duties are nice in a house this big. And, for those times when we just need a break from each other, we've both put TVs in our bedrooms (something I would normally be against, but in this situation made sense).

We have so much to be thankful for that its hard to dwell much on all that we've lost. And we've lost a lot in the last year, if you choose to think about it. But I'm choosing not to. I'm not saying the changes haven't been hard or emotional, because they have. But we really have been greatly blessed, and we have much for which to be thankful.