Saturday, August 18, 2007

Reflections on Home

We now have internet at the new house. How convenient. Jena, my sister in law and our housemate, just so happened to have an wireless router, and so I have the luxury of posting from bed as I drift off to sleep. Hopefully my sleepy state doesn't lead to posts I'll regret in the morning, but I doubt it...not this time, anyway.

We've been in G-Rap for two full weeks now, and it's been a good settling process. The first week was difficult, but this week was much better. I've had plenty of tasks to take care of during the days while spending time with my beautiful baby Addison. I got my licence switched to Michigan, along with the van title and some nifty new license plates. I ordered all my books for the semester (four of them came today). I had to buy a new modem to get the internet running at the house. I called a ton of day care places to check on rates and details. And we continue to put the house together, box by box, room by room. We have a lot of stuff. I wish we didn't, but we do. At least we're trimming the fat (vis a vis an upcoming garage sale). And I need to buy a car this week, so I've been looking into that as well.

It's been interesting. Transition is always a difficult and exciting thing. For the last seven years of my life, I've pretty much constantly been in transition. Dorms (202D), parents house, dorms (104B), parents house, dorms (104B), Little Pine Island Camp, apartment at Trinity, apartment at North Park, house in Indy, house in G-Rap. The only place we stayed long enough to call home was Indy, and just like that, we're gone.

There are so many things we'll miss about Indy. It's our daughter's birthplace, and where she spent the first year of her life. It is the home of some great dining establishments: Squealers, Yats (Cajun Creole Crazy), Bub's, King Kabob, La Margarita, Rick's Cafe Boatyard, Claddagh's Irish Pub. I'm salivating just thinking about the goodness. We lived 1.5 miles from the Monon trail, where we walked and ran regularly. We were a mile from the bank, post office, and public library. Downtown was clean, easy to get around, and beautiful.

And of course there are the people. The people of Hope Covenant, the people of the Hollis Adams lunch bunch, some dear, dear friends who I got to meet with regularly to encourage and sharpen each other and talk ministry, music, life and everything in between. It's hard to even think of some faces, because it rips my heart to be separated from them. We haven't had very deep roots for over seven years, but they dug in pretty far in Indy. Just when it began to really feel like home, we left.

But duty calls. Seminary calls, and I'm actually in a good place right now. Though I miss Indy, I'm loving getting to know G-Rap. We live dangerously close to a Best Buy, a restaurant with excellent falafel called The Pita House, a mall, and Baker Book House. We are close to Marcie's family, and as I mentioned before, her sister even lives with us. I've gotten to meet some of the neighbors, and our next door neighbor gave us some fresh produce from her garden. Our house is very nice, a perfect fit for us, and it's starting to feel like our house finally.

But what makes everything go 'round are those constant and intimate relationships I share with my Lord, my wife and my daughter. Home is a nebulous concept, and is not bound in all facets by geography. I feel at home when I am with Marcie and Addison, no matter where that is. They are my family, they love me and allow me to love them. Yet ultimately, none of us can feel fully at home until fully present with Christ (2 Corinthians 5), and I know not when that day will come.

So for one more week, I am a full-time stay at home (home, get it?) dad looking for a car and continuing to put a house together. After that, let the weekly commute to Chicago begin. Thankfully the Cubbies are getting their act together to get ready for my arrival. Thanks, boys. Heal up good, Alfonso.

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1 Comments:

At 8:23 AM EDT , Blogger Matt said...

from bits and pieces I was trying to figure out what you're doing...but commuting from G-rap...whew!

I do have that email address still...but don't read it much

I had the same problem with you...couldn't find an address other than hope

just wanted to know what you were doing...fill me in on that email address and I'll email back

 

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