All the newness

I'd forgotten about the "newness", which is strange, since I was looking forward to the "newness", to some extent.

For quite a long time - almost 6 years, to be exact - my three girls have shared a room. A few months ago, when Caleb outgrew the bassinet (and I outgrew my need to have him in my room), he joined them. So, four kids in a room. It worked, but it wasn't without it's issues.

I was looking forward to the newness of dividing the girls & Caleb between two rooms.

Also, there was the fact that the old house was a split foyer. If you've never seen one of these, it means that when you open the front door, you are greeted with stairs up and stairs down, and you make a decision (not quite as dramatic as the red pill or the blue pill). For us, the main living areas (kitchen, living room, dining room) and the bedrooms were all upstairs. Factor in half a dozen noisy (and nosy) children and acoustics that carry sound all over the place...you get the picture.

I was looking forward to the newness of living in a house that had the traditional bedrooms-up-living-areas-down thing.

And don't get me wrong - I love those new things. But there are other new things that take getting used to...

• the oven is smaller - my larger cookie sheets no longer fit
• there is less counter space - I can no longer plate food from the kitchen quite so easily
• there is no fan in the bathroom to cope with a certain child's long hot showers
• the "squeaky step" has become a squeaky doorway. My doorway.

All these little things - and they are terribly minor - mean adjustments. Seeing the new normal. Adapting. Being thankful for the new blessings that come with a new place while appreciating again the things that worked so well in the old. So when I am tempted to compare the new with the nostalgia, I can remember that God Himself does new things - and each of His new things is a new adventure.