1950’s family

Marck often jokes and says we are a 1950’s family, you know the wife stays home, the husband goes off to work, comes home at 5:30 to dinner finished and on the table. (Well, almost on the table J) The kids are usually waiting on the curb for daddy to come home. The kids even play a game in which Eden cooks dinner for the boys, and Canon and Zion play fireman while they wait for their dinner. We wouldn’t have it any other way to be sure. Some days if feels so out of the norm that it gets a little lonely. Most of my friends have other jobs, either outside the home or a home based business so that doesn’t always leave them much time to just hang out. My friends who don’t work at all have their kids in one activity after another, which is almost like having a job. So there isn’t much room there for just hangin’ either. I was feeling pitiful the other day, thinking “I had lots of friends to pal around with in CA, what happened here in Texas?”. Different culture, different priorities. I am not sure. We have been here three years and still don’t really have friends that we see often. I joke a lot and say if I didn’t do my friends hair, I’d never see them. Joke or not, the truth is I rarely see people outside of haircuts. Now, you could say I could take that personally, but I have too high of a self esteem for that to get me down. No one would get their haircut by someone they didn’t like. So right there, I’m good. Busy lives and schedules keep friends apart. If you aren’t doing the same activity, you don’t have the luxury of seeing friends. Believe me that is a luxury! I recently had two good friends move back to where they were from originally, and let me tell you, that left quite a void. One of them was such an inspiration to me. I remember her saying she never did more than one thing in a day. She would go to the library, then home. Or maybe dance class, then home. I finally found my kindred spirit. I am not knocking folks who bust out 5 errands in one day. In fact, I applaud them for their courage! J For me, it’s exhausting to shlep three small people here, there and everywhere. My friend was great because I knew she’d be home by early afternoon and we could gab on the phone if everyone was having a quiet time. The other thing I liked is she didn’t always answer her phone. Something I am famous for. Even my husband stalks me if I don’t pick up after the 4th or 5th time he calls. Like my friend, I couldn’t be bothered with whoever was on the phone if I was busy doing something else, like playing Lego’s or dollies or sitting on my fanny watching Oprah. Busy is busy. J Back to my friend, I knew if she picked up, she really had the time.
Wistfully I think about our culture and our society especially here in North Dallas and I wish we were a little slower. When we moved here I really did think I was moving to Hicksville. Being from CA I never imagined that Texas was anything but backwards and slow. Imagine my shock. Quite the opposite. Turns out we were the Hillbillies. J I could always picture myself on a porch swing sippin’ mint juleps or lemonade fanning myself, hollering at my kids to come in for supper. Apparently I also like to day dream.
Well, that’s not what it’s like here and neither of us is going to change, me or North Texas. So in my pitiful, lonely days, I remember that God has called us here to this fast paced suburb for this time, and that sometimes it’s ok to not do what everyone else is doing. That also, it is ok to be lonely, it’s not a bad thing. Lonely is really a state of mind. You’ve heard the saying, “ you could be lonely in a room full of people”. It’s more about what you make of a situation.