Settling In

About a month ago already (wow time flies) we closed on the new house and moved in to our new one as a whole family.  Is it my dream home?  Initially I would have said no, but thinking of the bigger picture and where we are in our lives, I would now say it is a perfect fit. 

The house is a bit bigger than our old one, but it sits on a smaller city lot.  That just gives us lots of room inside and less lawn to mow, which is more time to spend doing fun things.  The house is 100 years old and is full of character.  There is so much we can do with it and over time make it our own. 

The kids seem very happy with the new place and their new surroundings.  Their old school district has granted them permission to finish out their education within the old school.  That helps make the move better too, with no big educational changes. 

So the big question is, how are things going?  Surprisingly well.  There are adjustments in the household that will fix themselves as the kids now have two parents under one roof.  But already I have noticed some positive signs of everyone fitting into their respective roles.  Probation has come through without incident so things are good there for now. 

The difficult part comes into play due to the treatment program that my husband is expected to attend.  He is at a point in the program where he is being challenged and asked to do things out of character for him, but yet they are things that are necessary for him to grow and moved beyond the feelings and emotions that put him in the awful place he once found himself.  It is difficult for me to see him struggling with life long habits and being forced to change.  It is hard for me to watch him struggle with these challenges when I fully support what the program and his counselor are trying to do.  He feels that they want to see immediate changes, but it is difficult to change a lifetime of behavior with a blink of an eye.  I don't believe that they expect overnight miracles, but just want to see that he is making the effort and doing the work. 

Just like settling into a new home, creating a new way of dealing with life"s struggles takes time, patience and perseverance.  It seems to be a never ending task until one day you look around and there are no more boxes left to unpack, furniture has been replaced many times, kids have come and gone and your on your third color of paint in the kitchen.  Changing and becoming better people is a job that never has an end we just wake up one day and realize we are different than the person we used to be, and hopefully for the better.