Thought it was about time to share a few things about our set up in Dallas. We are so blessed to have two places to call "home." I was really fearful in the beginning that I would feel stretched across two states (that dislike each other I might add) and that, in the end, neither one would feel like home. But, after my first full week in Dallas, I am happy to report that the Dallas house has a cozy feel to it - and that when I returned to Springdale yesterday it also offered a sense of home and comforted me with its familiarity. So, here I am in a bizarre life that seems surreal at most times, with half of my belongings in Texas and the other half in Arkansas.
We live very close to Frisco but actually have a Plano address. We only live about 5 minutes from the large Stonebriar Center mall in Frisco (all of the girls say holla). My family has a tradition of a Christmas shopping trip that my grandfather started with his daughters about 20 years ago. Every December he would take my Mom and her sisters to Dallas, give them their Christmas money to shop with and turn them loose. He would find a parking place on a bench in the mall and hold their sacks. It was a great opportunity for them to get all of their Christmas shopping done without kids and at stores that don't exist in Arkansas, much less El Dorado. Those trips hold special memories for my Mom and my aunts. So about 7 years ago the granddaughters decided to invite themselves along for the fun. The mall location has changed throughout the years, and when the granddaughters joined they decided on Frisco. I say all that to explain that in all of the times I walked through Stonebriar with my family, I never dreamed I would someday live a couple of miles from there. Just blows my mind.
But, it is reality now and - for the most part - I am really enjoying it. Last week was our first full week there and Steve's first week of work. For those who do not know, he accepted a temporary assignment from his company (Saatchi) to work with their client Frito Lay there in Plano. We are to be there for a year to 18 months (we will see what part of THAT is reality!). His first week went well, just odd as he is beginning everything anew. But so far so good with him. My emotions were very mixed last week. It was both a little unnerving and liberating to go from a lot of responsibilities to none. I sat there last week, feeling like I should be doing something - don't I have a dance class to get to, a bible study lesson to work on, people to meet at Chick-Fil-A for lunch?? But, nothing. Not one commitment, not one thing on my calendar.
So what did I do? Well, I'm not sure if it was depression setting in or that feeling of vacation - you know the one where you want to just forget the outside world - but I proceeded to do nothing except sit outside, swim and eat the entire week. The weather was great - warm without humidity and a nice breeze. So it was good to be outside - Lowery and I lived outside every day, swimming and eating lunch. It sounds good, I know, but in a way it was very lonely. We were vegging out not necessarily because we wanted to, but because we literally didn't have anything else to do. Know the difference?
So now that I have the week of doing nothing out of my system, our next two week stay will be much more productive. I will get Lowery set up in dance and gymnastics, we will find a small group at Prestonwood, hopefully get together with some friends and get back into a life. And when I tell all of you to come visit, I really mean it! We really want people to come see us - take advantage of a free place to stay in Dallas. Because we already miss all of you. . .