And Then Sometimes Everything Falls into Place

Yesterday was a bad day. There wasn’t one specific thing that happened. It was just one of those days where I didn’t feel right, but couldn’t exactly put my finger on why. 

Moving into a new house, you have to expect some things will need repair. It comes with the territory. However, when your inspection doesn’t mention the things that are wrong and you don’t learn of them until you actually move in and see them firsthand, well, that’s not a good kind of surprise. The showerhead in the master bath was broken and lying on the floor of the shower. That same shower doesn’t drain properly and after one shower, I discovered a stain of water that had leaked down into the ceiling of the laundry room and puddled onto the floor. That same shower has a hole in the floor making it pretty useless. The other bathroom has a large crack in the tub, again, rendering it useless. The microwave doesn’t work, nor did the garbage disposal until my friend replaced it for me.


I know these aren’t huge issues in the whole scheme of things, but it’s aggravating nonetheless. I paid for an inspection and I feel like the inspector ripped me off. Thankfully, I have a 90 day warranty that should cover the repairs. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to send them a box of Florida cockroaches that, despite the cute name “Palmetto Bugs” that Floridians call them, are the size of cats. That ought to send a message.

I also have a yard full of weeds that I was aware would need to be resodded. I’m sure it can wait a bit, but I do have an HOA and it’s only a matter of time until they bring it up. The estimate I received was a bit more than I thought it would be. And then, to top things off, the air conditioner went out in my car.

At some point in the afternoon, after riding around in 90-some degree weather in the hot car, Savannah broke down and cried that she hates Florida. It broke my heart. I knew that I was at least partly to blame because my surly attitude was affecting her.

I know all these things are fixable and certainly not the end of the world. But when they all kind of pile up at once, well, it put me in a funk.

However, things have a way of working out. They always do. A wonderful blog reader and Facebook friend who lives nearby, told me that her husband owns a car repair shop and would be happy to look at my van. He was great and took a look at my car right away. As I was sitting in the waiting room, another woman walked in and the owner, Brandon, talked to her like they were old friends. She told me she’d been taking her cars there for many years and she refused to go anywhere else. That tells you a lot about a business right there. I’m so happy to have found a reputable mechanic I can trust. Anyone in the central Florida area, check out the Aamco in Apopka!

Then, as I was unpacking boxes today, I found a card that I picked up from my PO Box the day we moved. I never opened it, but just threw it in a box. Today, I opened it and found a sweet note along with a generous gift card from a reader named Kathryn. I used it to buy a pool pass and my kids were ecstatic to go swimming this evening! Back home, my kids spend most of their time outside. They’re always playing outside. But here? Well, I feel like it’s almost child abuse to tell the kids to go outside and play when it’s so hot. So they were beyond thrilled to have the chance to swim!
As they splashed and swam this evening, I lay back in a lounge chair and watched them. Austin stood a couple feet from the edge of the pool, his hands outstretched to catch Brooklyn who giggled and jumped in. Savannah and Jackson threw a frisbee back and forth. Lexi and Clay dove down repeatedly to find the goggles they’d tossed to the depths. Then Brooklyn and Lexi played on the stairs while Clay and Jackson walked around the deck trying to catch a lizard. Austin and Savannah raced across the pool. Then Savannah played with Clay and Austin threw Lexi in the air while she laughed, limbs flailing before she hit the water. Jackson held Brooklyn and spun her around the pool. I watched, a smile on my face as the sun set over the lake. The palm trees swayed in the warm, gentle breeze, the sky behind them a beautiful pink. This is good, I thought. This is where we’re supposed to be.