01.11.09
Word (Phrase) of the Week 1/11/09
Ease
Flow. (Not to be confused with “Easy”.)
The packing from the last two weeks culminated in closing on our home and immediately making our move happen. It was not easy by any means, yet it was filled with ease and flow throughout:
- My stepdaughter’s new bus stop is a block away and it turns out that she has the exact same bus as where we just lived. To some this may seem minor, but when a kid moves to another state, acquires a stepfather and starts first grade, a little consistency goes a long way. Same friendly driver, same friends and kids from the old neighborhood, that kind of thing…
- The folks who lived here prior to us were truly awesome during the entire time, from negotiations to moving in. Everything was worked out in a cordial and downright nice and pleasant fashion. I’d say we actually became friends as a result. I feel blessed for myself and my family for the love and energy they put into this place and the kindness that pervaded the entire sale process. After an excruciating and long and often hopeless and dis-empowering experience selling my previous house, this experience served as a healing balm. The closing lasted just 40 minutes – amazing!
- The TV works! Now, we are not a big TV family, but where we last lived the only way to receive PBS and really any other station of use was to purchase basic cable. As it happened this came with a bunch of cable news stations (and Comedy Central for some reason) so during the election campaign it ended up being pretty helpful in keeping us informed and active. We assumed that cable was just going to be part of our monthy budget while living in the river valley. Much to our surprise, it turns out that our new home came with some kind of dish antenna (I just saw it two days ago) that enables us to access PBS in PA and NJ as well as the channels that have the Eagles games on. Not that I expected to be watching those in January…
- …bringing us to those Eagles (again.) We moved in on a Saturday and the next day were able to watch a their Wildcard Playoff game on our TV, sans cable. The fact that they were in the playoffs was almost beyond comprehension. Clearly, with only a 5% chance of getting in on the last day of the season, that feat alone was not easy. It was a certain a mathematical improbability. But everything fell into place (Oakland beat Tampa – there is nothing else to say) and then the Eagles just needed to beat arch-nemesis Dallas. Talk about flow! The results speak (or rather, spoke) for themselves. Then it was that Wildcard game in our new home, that ended up pretty well, too…a nice way to celebrate as a family. This is a team that most of us around here left for dead a few weeks ago. They players and coaches, however, ultimately had other plans. They bonded as a group, worked harder than ever and never gave up – on the odds, on their potential and in themselves. Their road this year hasn’t been easy by any means. Most every game has not be easy (and they made their share of mistakes to ensure that much of the time), yet now they are playing with ease. And with that ease, has come an almost childlike joy, as they play a sport they have played since being children. And with that joy has come more abundance, today demonstrated in another logic-defying victory.
What does the future bring? Who knows? No one, really. And that is fine. As the Fortune Cookie said (on the “Learn Chinese side) when my wonderful wife and I first dined in our house: “bâo – Be full”. Have enough. That enables ease to happen, even when it seems like hard work. A late Happy New Year to everyone! May you “be full” in 2009 with all that you need.