Settling In

Lilly started school less than a month ago, and she loves it. She's doing well. She's making friends, doing her work, learning, playing, socializing. She's saying the pledge of allegiance (or at least putting her hand on her heart and mouthing words), and she's praying and doing the sign of the cross like an expert. The moms are friendly, the kids are excited to see Lilly, and Lilly is so happy to be part of a nice class, in a nice school.

I am so relieved. Since Lilly was so little, I imagined her educational future. I didn't picture special education, although people pushed us towards it. I didn't picture a large public school scenario. I pictured a small school, loving environment, religious education, with her peers. And that's where she is, and I'm so happy for it. I feel like God has led us to this place, and in just a couple short weeks, she is thriving. I look forward to seeing how the rest of her year goes.

So we're settling into the school routine, and continuing to unpack (it's a large process - unpacking boxes from NYC, Charlottesville, childhood, and some even from our year in New Zealand), and getting used to living in Bethesda. We found a cute diner the other night with organic and local healthy ingredients, that I think we might visit quite a lot in the future. Lilly is an expert at going to the movies and the pool with her daddy, and we still bake a couple times a week.

After Europe in July, and a week in Atlanta in August, and a weekend back in Atlanta (just me) for a wedding two weeks ago, I swore I didn't want to travel again for a long time. We really do need the time to settle in here, and the past few years of living like vagabonds. Yet - the more we settle, the more I think about where we're headed next. So, we just booked a trip for the three of us to Atlanta to meet our new niece, born to Jon's sister last week. And Disney World keeps tempting me with special pin code offers which I really should ignore...