This weekend we decided to really take in our new surroundings in Delray and go to the Delray Affair which is an outdoor arts, crafts, and music street festival that has been held for 51 years in Delray Beach. It used to be in celebration of the gladiolas that were in bloom and ended in the crowning of Miss Gladiola in the 1940's-1950's. It has evolved over time to become what it is today.
The festival is held on Atlantic Avenue which is full of boutiques and great places to eat. The festival had local artists using repurposed lobster traps for frames as well as local vendors selling honey infused with key limes and aged balsamic with blackberries (just to name a few). The kids enjoyed old fashioned root beer made with cane sugar in a tin mug with free refills. Oh the sugar rush!
When I first moved to Florida and was searching for a place for all of us to live, I lived in a condo in Delray. Nervous to explore it alone, I took my Sundays driving up and down A1A with the top down and the tunes on. I usually drove down Atlantic and loved the small, beach town feel the street exuded.
Little did I know we would basically end up where I started a little over two years later. We loved Delray Beach so much even before we moved. It became "our" beach. Many weekends we made the 30 minute trip from Coral Springs to Delray just to enjoy the beach and play in the unusually calm waters. Now we are 1 mile away from our beach and couldn't be happier!
I guess I love it because it really reminds me of downtown Oxford, Mississippi with a little bit of the Cooper Young District (Mid-town Memphis) thrown in. It is charming and quaint as well as electic. The crowd is a mix of young singles, married couples with children, retirees, and the inevitable snow birds that crowd South Florida from October until April each year. There is always something going on in Delray and usually it is centered around family which is rare to have events where everyone can participate. We are looking forward to the Green Market, 4th of July fireworks, and the massive Christmas tree lighting where Santa visits via helicopter. We met "santa" this weekend while tasting those aged balsamics. He has been a part of the Delray Christmas experience for nearly 20 years. We are excited for what this year will bring!
Saturday evening at church with the high school life groups I help lead, we were discussing contentment and what that really means. I thought I would summarize what I took away from the lesson.
Contentment in today's culture is not in society's vocabulary. Everyone is always striving and working towards the bigger, the better, the next "thing".
Along the way we lose site that it really isn't the end goal but the journey along the way. The people we encounter. The lessons we learn, or don't for that matter. We look for and work for what we think will make us happy only to discover it is short-lived and did not meet our expectations. Working towards a goal is a good thing. But while working we should be happy, not resentful in our tasks. This doesn't mean we should stop trying because contentment should not be confused with complacency. Be satisfied with what you have as that brings joy. Joy is much more meaningful and longer lasting than happiness.
I realized something after hearing the lesson on Saturday. For the first time in a long time I am no longer bitter over the robbery. Yes, it is still painful to have lost such precious things that were the legacy of my grandparents and the sweet memory of the night Dennis proposed to me with the ring he had custom made. I am still fearful that I will again walk in on intruders in our home. I still feel so violated and vulnerable at times.
But, we have picked ourselves up, dusted off, and become stronger as individuals and as a family. We made tough sacrifices in order to move to our new home in Delray. However, we are learning more and more each day that it is really worth it.
Though I would love some things for the new home and to tear out the exisiting landscaping (like yesterday, I hate bushes!); I don't need it right now. I am satisfied, I am content. Through this awful experience we have found peace and even joy.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
The latter part of 2012....Devastation and Discovery
Life pretty much got in the way mid-way through 2012 and I had no time to breathe let alone update this little piece of our lives with the details.
I have to say that from August 31st until December 31st, our lives were turned completely upside-down. Literally.
August 31st around 7pm, we arrived home after getting the kids from school and stopping by the store in preparation for a beach fun-filled Labor Day to find we were being robbed. Yes, robbed. I walked in on the 3 suspects in our home running from the master bedroom through the office and into the kitchen to escape through the sliding glass door they removed from the track to break in.
I haven't talked much about it because I had to identify the suspects. They were caught and the cases are still pending in court. Hardly any of our belongings were recovered. Most of them being my jewelry and family heirlooms, which can never be replaced. My engagement ring and wedding band were also among the items taken. We went to bed very late that night with every light on in the house. I dont believe I have slept soundly since then. have never been so fearful in my life.
The fear remained for months. To be honest the fear is still ever present. My security and independence were taken from me that day. Our kids now know that the world is full of terrible people who do terrible things. Innocence was stolen from them. Dennis was helpless as he saw how this event altered me in so many ways. He didn't know how to help me recover from it all.
Day after day, I would return to the house with the red kitchen I so adored and would be fearful to go in the home alone. Most of the time, ok all of the time, I waited for Dennis to come home before entering the house. Fear took over. Fear won every time. My way of life was altered. My time spent cooking our family meals was replaced with counseling sessions so I could just get up in the morning and go to work and function. I will never get that time back and that is the one thing I am probably the most angry about.
No, we were not physically harmed (thankfully)but the emotional harm, the mental anguish takes so much more to move past. The images of those people in the house, the noises of their feets as they ran through the house to escape, the finger print powder from the crime scene technicians....This is something we are still trying to recover from. It is devestating.
From that moment on, our lives were set in a whirlwind of change. We immediately contacted our realtor to begin the search for a new place to live. This proved rather difficult as rental properties are few and far between these days in South Florida. No one wants to buy, apparently. We decided to move forward and look for a home to purchase. Because, let's be honest, as terrible as the robbery was it could have easily happened in Tennessee as well. We had no intentions of moving back to Memphis as we call South Florida home now. We put 3 offers on homes and each time we were heart broken to discover the homes didn't appraise well and we were back to the drawing board. Finally, we found a place we loved in an area I was familar with. We placed and offer and the appraisal went through. We got the news November 20th while in Memphis visiting family for Thanksgiving.
The nightmare was seemingly coming to a close and a new chapter beginning. We closed on our new home at the end of December and moved into our new home in Delray Beach just in time to celebrate the new year.
We are still dealing with the transition. The kids had to leave their old school and daycare behind for new ones as we moved to another county/district. As mentioned, we are still in the midst of court hearings. This is difficult as we relive the events of August 31st each time we have to go back to court.
Through it all God has sustained us. We are beginning to see we are stronger. We are closer to each other. Most of all we are closer to Him. We hope that 2013 is a better year. A year full of discovery and the joy that only the trust in Jesus can provide.
I have to say that from August 31st until December 31st, our lives were turned completely upside-down. Literally.
August 31st around 7pm, we arrived home after getting the kids from school and stopping by the store in preparation for a beach fun-filled Labor Day to find we were being robbed. Yes, robbed. I walked in on the 3 suspects in our home running from the master bedroom through the office and into the kitchen to escape through the sliding glass door they removed from the track to break in.
I haven't talked much about it because I had to identify the suspects. They were caught and the cases are still pending in court. Hardly any of our belongings were recovered. Most of them being my jewelry and family heirlooms, which can never be replaced. My engagement ring and wedding band were also among the items taken. We went to bed very late that night with every light on in the house. I dont believe I have slept soundly since then. have never been so fearful in my life.
The fear remained for months. To be honest the fear is still ever present. My security and independence were taken from me that day. Our kids now know that the world is full of terrible people who do terrible things. Innocence was stolen from them. Dennis was helpless as he saw how this event altered me in so many ways. He didn't know how to help me recover from it all.
Day after day, I would return to the house with the red kitchen I so adored and would be fearful to go in the home alone. Most of the time, ok all of the time, I waited for Dennis to come home before entering the house. Fear took over. Fear won every time. My way of life was altered. My time spent cooking our family meals was replaced with counseling sessions so I could just get up in the morning and go to work and function. I will never get that time back and that is the one thing I am probably the most angry about.
No, we were not physically harmed (thankfully)but the emotional harm, the mental anguish takes so much more to move past. The images of those people in the house, the noises of their feets as they ran through the house to escape, the finger print powder from the crime scene technicians....This is something we are still trying to recover from. It is devestating.
From that moment on, our lives were set in a whirlwind of change. We immediately contacted our realtor to begin the search for a new place to live. This proved rather difficult as rental properties are few and far between these days in South Florida. No one wants to buy, apparently. We decided to move forward and look for a home to purchase. Because, let's be honest, as terrible as the robbery was it could have easily happened in Tennessee as well. We had no intentions of moving back to Memphis as we call South Florida home now. We put 3 offers on homes and each time we were heart broken to discover the homes didn't appraise well and we were back to the drawing board. Finally, we found a place we loved in an area I was familar with. We placed and offer and the appraisal went through. We got the news November 20th while in Memphis visiting family for Thanksgiving.
The nightmare was seemingly coming to a close and a new chapter beginning. We closed on our new home at the end of December and moved into our new home in Delray Beach just in time to celebrate the new year.
We are still dealing with the transition. The kids had to leave their old school and daycare behind for new ones as we moved to another county/district. As mentioned, we are still in the midst of court hearings. This is difficult as we relive the events of August 31st each time we have to go back to court.
Through it all God has sustained us. We are beginning to see we are stronger. We are closer to each other. Most of all we are closer to Him. We hope that 2013 is a better year. A year full of discovery and the joy that only the trust in Jesus can provide.
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