Maine is shining really bright this summer. We deal with long (very long) winters around these parts but we rarely get the oppressive summer heat. Temperatures don't get much higher than 75 degrees around here, and it's not uncommon to have 55 degree highs every once in awhile, even in June. Let's just say that I intentionally left out one pair of winter pjs for Nathan and I've had to use them more than once.
When we get the chance we have really tried to get out and explore our new area, making as many memories as we can that will hopefully carry us through those chilly winter months. Today we took the kids down to the harbor and watched the schooners sail near the lighthouse. They love love love looking for seashells, creatures, splashing in the water, and (Nathan's person favorite) throwing rocks.
Life is going well here. Any time I get discouraged about starting over in a new place or wishing I were closer to family, I am always reminded of the countless blessings we have here in our current stage of life. Blessings I never could have imagined during those difficult residency years.
- Ryan's work schedule is so wonderful. Working four days a week is a dream come true for our whole family, and I am well aware that it's not the norm and I try not to take it for granted. Mind you, he works long and hard during each of those four days. It is not uncommon for him to be too busy to eat lunch even call home at all during the day. But he always has Wednesdays off, and every weekend as well. He is on-call every other weekend but only rarely even gets a phone call, and I think he's had to go into the hospital one time, which is a far cry from the endless hours he slaved away at Yale. He also enjoys who he works with so much at the hospital here in Maine. There is a level of mutual respect among employees and an overall positive work environment.
- The church membership is small out here but the branch seems very tight-knit and we have felt so loved and welcomed.
- I am still blown away by the beauty of northern New England. We live just a short hike from the nearest beach, and living on a peninsula means that there are beautiful views of the water everywhere we turn. I love how the ocean changes color based on the sky. It can look really angry or really bright depending on the mood of the clouds. I love it both ways. And it is just so so green. I feel like my kids are living in a little childhood paradise--complete with fireflies, croaking frogs, luna moths, and even beavers and salamanders (and ticks. lots of ticks. but we try not to let them get us down too much).
- Our garden makes me happy. Things are really starting to grow and I am discovering that I actually enjoy weeding. Something about "cleaning up" an area of the garden that can't immediately be messed up again brings me immense satisfaction. The salad greens are exploding right now, so we head over there almost every day and get all we need for dinner. By the next day the garden seems to have replenished anything we took from it. It's like magic :). Sharing it with two other neighbor families has been really fun.
- There is just a different pace of life around here. Leave it to small towns, I guess. The librarians know my name (and the names of my children) and I don't ever even have to give them my library card anymore. They just look me up. People are also more trusting. That continues to amaze me. For example, the other day we went strawberry picking at a small farm near our home. Once we were done picking 12 pints of berries, I took our haul up to the farmer so he could presumably measure the amount of strawberries we picked and charge me accordingly. He just smiled at me and told me I could put my money in the jar that he kept at the end of his front lawn. Then he walked away. He didn't even watch to make sure I paid. What was most surprising to me was that, when I did find the jar, I saw that is was full of money. There had to have been a couple hundred dollars in there, and he just kept it by the side of the road where anyone could take it! But no one does around here and I love that about this place.
I was feeling particularly homesick the other day when the thought came to me---'Sara, you have a really great life here, so you can spend your energy and time thinking about how much you miss your family and how hard it is to live so far away, or you can stop for a second and count just a few of the many blessings you enjoy here in Maine. Which do you think will make you happier?' So I've chosen to count my blessings as often as I can.
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| Exploring the ocean water. |
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| On a walk, following Dad's every move. |
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| Making a wish in our backyard. |
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| At the beach with my favorite two-year-old. |
Also, while I'm rambling, I never did mention my favorite talks from the most recent General Conference (which was 3 months ago--oops). But I loved the talk by President Uchtdorf titled, "
On Being Genuine," the talk by Elder Andersen called "
The Music of the Gospel," and the talk by Elder Ringwood, "
Truly Good and Without Guile," and the talk by Sister Burton, titled, "
We'll Ascend Together." I try to listen to one or two talks a day, either while I'm getting ready in the morning or making dinner in the afternoon. It has really brought an added measure of peace into my life as I have tried to listen to the words of our living apostles.
