Soulful Living in New England

"Connecticut spans just 110 miles from east to west. And 70 miles from north to south. But across our diverse yet compact regions, you'll find everything you need to both unplug - and recharge!"

http://www.ctvisit.com/


Connecticut has offered us a collection of cherished experiences. I took a walk with the girls around the campground, and they rattled off memory after memory of our weeks here. Scott is continually working long hours, and we are living in stressful, tense moments. There is an indescribable exhaustion that comes from the life of a hard working dad and a homeschooling mama.

But....Sunday is always coming. And we have taken full advantage of the gift of our surroundings on our family day together. Initially, we traveled outside of the state...New York City, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine. We have appreciated the rich history surrounding us. It is difficult to comprehend town established signs with years predating 1700. If the land could talk...I would listen for days.

Connecticut itself gives us a gorgeous campground located on a farm, orchards for picking fresh fruit and vegetable stands along the road, goat milk from the neighbor down the street, date nights and daughter dates for crabbing expeditions, the best ice cream, pizza, and seafood, and of course the beach 5 minutes away. A playland full of possibility for a family in need of refreshment and restoration on the weekend.

The girls and I relish in the opportunity for exploration. It is currently the middle of September, and we are still enjoying our beach time. The few people that are on the beach are very admiring of our four mermaids...the only ones in the water! While speaking with an older couple, I was telling them what a joy to stumble on Hammonasset Beach. They teased that I needed to keep their secret, so the locals can still have reign over their piece of the shore. We just recently discovered a lovely shoreline walk/hike that is a perfect distance. We try to visit a library a few times a week for homeschooling. The kid sections in these town libraries are more delightful to my girls than most playgrounds! They ask to go to the "train or castle or dollhouse" library.

Just in case I have not put enough emphasis on the beach...

I have been land locked for most of my life between my many years in Tennessee and Utah. I had no idea how refreshed by soul could be by the tossing of waves and the attraction my eye would have to water meeting sky! What an amazing and unexpected blessing to put our home on wheels and be near the ocean multiple times. The last two years have been a roller coaster ride of uncertainty, unknown, utter bliss, and lack of understanding. God has taken us on the ride of our life. And when I can come to the sea, all is well for that moment. It truly is a soulful experience for me. True rest...even when I take my four littles.

The community and culture has left an impression on us. We had a fantastic visit with another full time family that came to visit, but so far no bonds with anyone else in the area. However, we cannot get over the people here. The genuineness embedded in the culture...I have not encountered before. People talk to me all the time. And tell me exactly what they think, the good the bad and the ugly. If someone is having a bad day they do not mask it, and if they feel happy, it is expressed. Right now, I am sitting near two guys enjoying coffee after a run, and their conversation is the best. Just the expressiveness of it all. Not dramatic, just real feelings. I love it!

A lot of my experiences are seen through the lense of a mom with a tornado of children around me. I have a heightened awareness of my kids' behavior and whether they are disturbing others. I will not get into the commentary we have experienced in the South. But here, my children are embraced. People come up to us all the time and exclaim what a blessing 4 girls are and what a treat to have so many helpers. I hear many stories about their four or more siblings that they grew up with and the closeness and the importance of family. Even in restaurants we are spoken to with the connotation of our family being a gift.

There are many people that are interested in our travel story, we get less eyebrows raised and people that just want to know more. I was even introduced by a grandmother to her granddaughters that I was like "one of those cool HGTV people." Homeschooling, travel, marriage, family, life...it all gets discussed in our day to day stops by people who are more than willing to tell me everything and in turn ask about everything. It has been refreshing to be in community among the community.

Our family has all the strains of any other family, sometimes more with the extra hours that a traveling welder works and the intensity of six large personalities in a small space. I wouldn't call it an easy path or even simplified. There are still bills to be paid, chores to be done, RV and truck maintenance, lesson plans and meal plans, and tantrums to calm. This road that lead us to Connecticut is the same road that will lead us to places yet to be seen and touched. It gives life a little more flavor and excitement. And for this stay at home mom, it breaks me out of the mundane and offers newness and adventure.

The splash of the salt water on my littles' feet as they giggle and then plunge into those chilly waters without a care, as though they have to feel the beauty of the scene that they are in. Those same waters offering solace after a difficult day or harsh words as the waves lap the shore. And then, walking out in the salty air, in the dark, with the sand in my toes taking it all in with my love and a glass of wine. The drives lined with towering trees, now turning golden and ruby, proposing that we really could be characters in a painting. History coming to life in the aged architecture and historic villages replicas. The aliveness of the nearby cities and the delicious scent of local food. The grass stains on pants, and the apple juicy smiles of girls prancing through rows and rows of fruit trees. The laughter and "hey mom, look at me" as the imagination is sparked by creative library puppets and displays.

From our limited time on the road, New England is my absolute favorite. If there is such thing as a soul place...this is mine.