“Oh Shenandoah”

Virginia, here we are! Trees and bugs and “y’all”s welcomed us (and bit us) from the minute we arrived. We are surely in The South here, in case we (or you) ever wondered. It’s phenomenal to me that you can be in multi-cultural, international D.C., which somehow transcends any labels other than “fast-paced,” and yet you travel 1.5 hours south to Richmond and you’re in another world. I feel it, and I sense that the locals own it. For me, there are no negative associations with the South, other than, maybe, chiggers, or humidity, or hurricanes, but I definitely have a fascination with the general culture, which seems to be personified in that iconic Southern Drawl. It’s charming; the stuff of movies for a Westerner like me. I wonder if, or when, that charm will wear off and how much of it the kids and I will pick up. I never did take on the Quebecois accent as a French missionary in Canada- I couldn’t get my mouth to make those sounds. But already I find myself slipping into that slow and rolling southern thing in conversations here- just a little- just a smidgeon, but enough to make me wonder just how far it will go…

We’ve only just begun exploring the area- finally coming up for air from all the unpacking and general chaos of moving. If I tell you we’re moving again before at least five years have passed, just shoot me. The plane ride here was unbelievably smooth, though. The twins flew like veterans. Miri wasn’t too bad. It was just the last half hour or so (of a 4 hour flight) that things got a little hectic with wriggling bodies, but nothing to complain about. Phew! Thanks to Globe-Trotting Molly for sparking ideas for well-stocked back packs for the kids. It made a big difference.

We got to Baltimore and our new Eurovan was there waiting for us at the airport. We debated about buying a car this soon (Creighton had to let go of his rusty old truck), but it’s a good thing, because those flaky car shippers abandoned our Land Rover. It’s still sitting in Salt Lake at Grandma Rabiger’s house waiting for my parents to drive it out in a couple of weeks. We would’ve been car-less and shelling out thousands of dollars on a rental by now. Have I mentioned how much we love Eurovans?! We do, we do. We bought one many moons ago when we had 2.5 kids in Sugarhouse and Amy Moon laughed because….well…we only had 2.5 kids. I looked pretty funny driving that thing around- like I was driving a hotel shuttle. And now? Now, we pretty much need a hotel shuttle for our spontaneously multiplying kidlets. And all that spaciousness is refreshing. The trunk is a dream. I would buy this van for the trunk alone. Maybe I’ll take picture of it. Mind you, I’ve been living with a Land Rover for the past 3.5 years, which has absolutely NO trunk space. Great car, but NO storage space. Imagine road trips with NO storage space. Yup. Hallelujah for the Eurovan!! We’ll christen her with our first road trip here to the beach this week.

So, we’re here, safe and sound. And a little stir crazy. Trying to unpack with five little ones clamoring for my attention was interesting. I needed a plan for them, and I didn’t have one-- other than feeding hungry mouths and changing stinky diapers. PLANNING. That’s what I'm all about! When I do it, it’s amazing how smoothly life plays out in our home. It’s like the missing link to a head-banging math equation. You’d think I’d have it mastered by now after all these years of experimentation. I’m working on it, but thank heavens last week is over. Every box is unpacked- everything is in it’s place. My brain is making regular appearances now. Life WILL be calm and peaceful again (positive affirmations), the mosquitos WILL stop feasting on our legs (not sure about that one), Onward and Upward!