Why the silence?

I find it hard to write about difficult times. I feel uncomfortable complaining, and also I feel guilty after I've complained because really, any hard things I'm going through are first world problems. But I also don't like painting a sunshiny-rainbows&butterflies picture of my life either. Because that's not a true reflection. So instead of just "putting it all out there" - I stay silent. Not a particularly good trait for a writer.

Today I'll try to remedy that. I'll play a little catch-up with the past two months. Besides, time and perspective do wonders for hard times. 

Owen traveled to Jakarta for language training during the month of April and part of May. While he was gone, we decided it was the right time to put our house up for sale. This required tons of work. Tons and tons! Thankfully, my Dad flew out from Seattle to help. 

We sorted, moved furniture, made many trips to the dump and storage unit, decorated (with amazing help from Molly Kay!), worked in the yard, painted the front fireplace, and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Dad was such a help. He tackled my basement (easily the most daunting of all the jobs) and made the yard look beautiful. He helped pick up kids from various activities and pitched in for groceries and pizza. 

I could not have done it without my Dad.

My Dad wasn't the only one to help. My visiting teacher, Dayna Barker, came to wash windows. Actually, she taught me how to wash windows, as I had never washed my windows...ahem...ever. Then Amy Berringer showed up (even though she was sick) and painted my trim. And my amazing home teacher, Adam Fife, took a load of stuff to the dump for me. I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone's help.

Have I ever mentioned how much I do not like manual labor? Yet, somehow when I'm not by myself, when I'm working together with someone else, it's not quite as bad.

Of course, it wasn't all hard work. There were the morning runs with Dad. We ran 6 miles during the week and worked up to 8 miles on the weekend. There was a lovely walk around Franklin Park pond for family home evening. And there were the hours of talking, reminiscing, and just being together. In many ways it was a most precious time to spend with my Dad. 

And then, all the hard work paid off. In nothing short of a miracle, we received an offer on the house within the first 24 hours. A cute young family thought the house was perfect for them. 

I'm so grateful for all the people that helped this come to pass.