A Season of Waiting

Guys. If you know me really well, you’d know that waiting is my favorite and that I’m a really patient person. HAH! Seriously though, that couldn’t have been further from the truth just a few months ago. I’m happy to say that the season of waiting before our move to New Zealand has taught me 1. How to wait 2. How to be patient while waiting and 3. That waiting seasons should NOT be wasted seasons. Am I perfect at being patient while waiting? Absolutely not. But I feel like I’ve come a long way from where I was even just a few, short months ago.

We actively planned our immigration to New Zealand for almost a year, and a good portion of the planning involved waiting. Waiting for Matt to come around on the whole idea. Waiting to receive our assessment results. Waiting for documentation instructions. Waiting for our house to sell. Waiting for a job offer. Waiting for Matt’s qualifications to be assessed by the EWRB. Waiting for Matt to be EWRB registered. Waiting for Matt’s practicing license. Waiting to move to Brooksville. Waiting to move out of Brooksville (to NZ of course). Waiting for the final instructions from our immigration adviser. Waiting for our visas to be approved. You get it: just a lot of waiting.

But while I was waiting, I made it a point to live in the moment and truly embrace my surroundings. This doesn’t mean that every once in a while I wouldn’t get completely frustrated and break down and cry, because there was plenty of that to go around. But I really did learn to embrace the waiting period. Especially once we moved to Brooksville. Looking back, the waiting season was pretty sweet. I’m going to miss it – I feel sentimental just talking about it.

I feel like I learned so much more than just patience during the waiting season. The waiting season was also about slowing down and taking care of myself – something I tend to overlook, especially being a mom of two kidlets (a Kiwi term I just learned and can’t help but to adore). Before the waiting season, I worked out like crazy and really got into shape. During the wait, I tried keeping it up and honestly, it just didn’t happen most days because something else always took priority. FYI – I do look forward to getting back into shape (I’ve been craving a good sweat!) But during that time of not working out, I worked on fixing my spinal issues. I enjoyed my first-ever spa day with my friend Lara. I ate fresh, healthy foods daily. I took things a little slower and even napped when the kids napped. It was such a refreshing time!

For those who are curious, here’s a list of things I/we did during the waiting season:

• Visited Beasley’s Farm every Monday

• Rode ATVs around the Brooksville property

• Picked strawberries and made homemade strawberry jam

• Picked green beans

• Explored the abandoned cemetery near the Brooksville property (sooo neat! It’s an abandoned cemetery from the town of Oriole, a small town wiped out by influenza around 1900).

• Explored the chimney on the Brooksville property both by ourselves and with JT and Sarah (also neat. The house around it burned down in the ’60s and the chimney is all that remains. We dug around it and found artifacts).

• Spent lots of time swimming in the pool

• Explored Pine Island Beach

• Took both kids to Hernando Park frequently

• Friday night concerts in Downtown Brooksville

• Attended many Brooksville festivals, including the Blueberry Festival and the Art Festival (sooo much fun!)

• Hung out with Sarah and JT any chance we got (including above mentioned events).

• Hung out with Ryan and Victoria

• Sunday church service and lunches with Matt’s family

• I set up a trap to catch some hogs (never got any, but I had fun trying!)

• Owned three chickens that Landon named One, Two, and Three (seriously, I can’t wait to own chickens again. They’re the best!)

• Landon and Ellie attended VBS

• Valerie visited multiple times a week and hung out with me and the kids (I already miss the company!)

Those are just a few things that come to mind; I’m sure we did a lot more that I haven’t thought of. But I’m glad we had this waiting season. It was worthwhile and definitely necessary. Just having that extra family and friend time before we left for New Zealand was priceless. These are memories that we will always cherish and I’m grateful to have made them!