Mi casa es su casa : traveling mercies

A couple of years ago, I read Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott and this idea of traveling mercies has really hit home the past few weeks as we made our big transition to life in the US. Of course, there are always going to be little obstacles on the way, such as having to talk on 3 different cell phones at the same time to try to get your bank to authorize your credit card payment for the last 3 seats on the last available flight....the point is that although there were little hurdles along the way, God gives you wisdom to decipher between friendly little complications just to make life interesting and a RED LIGHT DO NOT PASS warning alert.

However, even though there are obstacles, I have learned through this experience that God definitely offers traveling mercies as well. I appreciate that many of you have asked about Suzy and her transition. We are so thankful that she has made the smoothest transition possible. Elvis and I both have been able to be in the house for the past month and a half, which has definitely boostered her feelings of security. We saw evidence of this this weekend as she spent the evening over at a neighbor's house (with the 20 other neighborhood kids) as all the adults shared in a progressive dinner. She had a blast. The next morning, she also had a blast at Sunday school at the church we have been visiting (it helped that both the Sunday school teachers were also bilingual!). Staying in nursery or staying with anyone besides us or Dinora has always been a struggle. I'm not saying she didn't cry the first few minutes, but she did great after that, which tells me she feels secure in her new environment.

Also, one of my big worries were the fact that we were going to have to make the move to a new house and new room for Suzy AND make the big switch from her crib to a bunk bed all at once. Other than one time that she tried to get down during the first week, she has not gotten out of her bed at all, and she loves it. She used to want to get in our bed sometimes at night, but that has not been an issue at all since we got here, thankfully. Mercies.

I love my turtle booster chair!

Another big worry was meal time, especially when we eat out. In El Salvador, it is normal for the kids to just run around the restaurant while the parents eat, so Suzy never wanted to sit in a high chair in restaurants. I was so worried about getting the stink eye at restaurants as my child ran around, interrupting everyone's meal. Not the case. She has had no problem sitting in a high chair/booster chair at home or at restaurants. Mercies!

And potty training? We haven't been pushing it very much, but she is doing great with it. I'm still nervous about actually getting rid of diapers, you know, having borrowed furniture and all, but we're getting close. Mercies!

Throw in the great friends we have made and all the free food and such, and that's a lot of mercies! Way more than i expected or deserve.

Of course, I'm not writing this post to make you think our daughter is automatically perfect now or that we have everything figured out. Of course there are still many lessons to learn about sharing, manners, patience, etc. I'm not saying we've arrived yet as parents either. I'm just saying that we are so thankful that God has shown us so much grace and mercy as we settle in to our new home. Makes me wish I hadn't spent so much time and energy stressing about it before we came.

I write this also to my friends that have made a big transition or are getting to make one with their kiddos. Those that have already done it can testify with me of these mercies, in spite of occasional speed bumps. And for those that are getting ready for a transition, don't waste your time worrying like I did if your kid will adjust OK or if they will end up resenting you later in life for uprooting them. They won't. They will be thankful of the love that surrounded them despite the changing setting. And it will give them lots of great stories to share later in life.

And I'm also not saying that you have to pick up and move your family in order to experience mercies: