On Austin and Gifts

Last updated on: August 8, 2011 at 12:01 am by michaboyett

On Austin and Gifts 2011-08-08T00:01:46-07:00 michaboyett

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This is my first real blog entry since arriving in Austin. Three days and I still haven’t been on a proper grocery run (my boy’s been eating a healthy diet of cheerios and turkey/mayo sandwiches, while Chris and I have gotten Torchy’s Tacos 2 out of 3 nights. We can’t stop ourselves.) I’m a bit overwhelmed with the amount of driving. I forgot what it’s like to living in a “driving” city. (Can you believe that?) We’ve spent the past two days in our realtor’s car with the boys working on the house hunt. And I’ve been counting my blessings.

Our corporate housing is somehow in the middle of a forest area where deer roam freely. They stare at us through our kitchen window (begging, I think). See below. August is amazed. (Remember how I said I wanted to give him more “nature”? Well…)
I love my husband and I missed him. So did my 3-year-old. I’m so thankful to have Chris around to have the long conversations with August (when it should be bedtime) that I can be too frustrated to have.
A pool in our apartment complex. 110 degrees everyday deserves a pool. Who’s with me?
I miss San Francisco. I’m grateful for that because I know it was a wonderful gift in our lives. Yesterday in Walgreens the cheesy background music was playing “If You’re Going to San Francisco” and I just about started weeping on the cold and flu aisle. This morning, August came in our room and said: “Daddy, I dreamed about all the fun things we did in San Francisco.” Cue sentimental music.
Every small thing is looking beautiful, especially since I started reading One Thousand Gifts. Example? I can’t get over the circles of light that fold through the surface of the swimming pool, the width of the Texas sky, my husband’s jaw, my baby’s round eyes. In the moments (like yesterday in Walgreens) when I’m tempted to become frustrated and irritable and snappy, I’m reminded of the grateful things I’ve been adding to my list and I remember that God is good to me. It’s like those moments when August is about to have a tantrum and I say: “August, you can make a decision right now: Do you want to have a tantrum and lose your dessert or do you want to calm down so you can have a cookie after dinner?” Sometimes he stops himself. Sometimes he remembers that he loves cookies and tantrums do nothing for him but make him sad. I get that. In my moments of self-pity and fear, God says: “Micha, you have choice right now. You can look at your life and be grateful or you can choose to ignore the gifts around you and wallow in the sad.” I want to choose well.
A sweet church. Yesterday we visited a very sweet church.

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