Slow down, you move too fast...

Tonight I was going to go out to a homeschool mom's night out/meeting. I had seen it announced on a local homeschool board I keep up with, and a new acquaintance suggested it too. I emailed the leader and received back a welcome and the directions to the place. It would have been the first time I've been out of the house alone for fun since we moved. I was pretty excited.

I was particularly excited because before we moved, going out in the evening was usually a hassle. My husband would get home from work just when I had to leave, so it was always a rush to get dinner ready for the family, get myself cleaned up and out the door on time. With him home (school hasn't started, but even when it does, he'll be home well before dinnertime) it would be so much easier!

Except time slipped away from me, and I found myself starting the pasta water 30 minutes before I had to leave. I was still dressed in sweats and a spaghetti-sauce-stained t-shirt. My husband had run out to the store and picked up a bottle of wine - a luxury we haven't enjoyed in a while. But I knew I wouldn't have a glass if I was going out...

So I didn't go. I shot a quick email off to the host of the group excusing myself. I had a "scheduling problem" I said. Quite true!

For a minute I was annoyed with myself for not being on top of things so I could go out. But that feeling quickly dissipated as I enjoyed a leisurely dinner with my family. It's true that we have dinner together every night, but it was especially nice tonight, probably because I had been rushing and then - just stopped.

I so desperately miss my friends "back home." Rarely did a week go by when I didn't have at least one set of mom-and-kids over, or went to someone else's house. I do need to meet some more people here, get myself and my kids connected (they are lonely too). But I don't have to do it tonight. There's time, I have to remember that. I didn't have friends immediately when I moved to Oregon 10 years ago, either. Sarah from Smallworld reminds me that it takes a while - maybe 3 years - to feel at home in a new place. We hope to be moving back home in 4 years, so... maybe we'll only feel at home here for a year? In any case, there will be another mom's meeting, and more opportunities. I'll keep praying for those, and in the meantime enjoy my evenings on the back deck with my little family.