Adjusting

Every single morning when I brush my teeth, this is the sign I have hanging over my shoulder in my bathroom. It didn't start there, but, for now, that is the perfect place to have it.

My mother used to have this sign hanging in our kitchen, so every person who walked in our house could see it. The message she hoped it would utter:

We have been left as an unexpectedly single-parent family. I am raising these two on my own while on disability and have NO IDEA how we are making it. But we love each other more than anything else in this world, so this might not be YOUR idea of "Home Sweet Home", but you should just ADJUST because this moment is just awesome!

I am still in the same house and after renovating the kitchen and going through so many things of what should stay and what should go over the last five years, I realized this sign still has a pretty important role. I moved it into the bathroom where it amuses me every day with its new message:

Good morning, Nicole. You were left this house, unexpectedly, five months after you got engaged. It was a blessing that you and your husband could live in such a beautiful and love-filled home, but let's face it: the two of you have NO IDEA what you are doing or how you are going to make it. This bathroom has been stripped bare, to its studs for over a year and a half now... This is not your idea of "Home Sweet Home", but life has thrown you guys some curves and you are ADJUSTING. Through it all, though, you love each other more than anything in the world and this is your moment (make it awesome!).

And, so, bizarrely, in my attempt to be transparent with the inadequacies of my home and homemaking for the guest who do dare to embark upon the "bathroom that once was", I have found a way to inspire myself each morning! I've embraced who I am - I'm someone who is adjusting, that doesn't mean I can't move on, it just means I'm learning on the job!