Nathan's first car show

Last night Nathan turned up toward me and said "This is the best place I've ever been". We were downtown where the main street had been shut down and nearly 50 vintage cars were parked all along the way for people to come check out. To say Nathan is obsessed with cars is an understatement. He can tell you anything you want to know about any car out there. Porsche. Corvette. Mustang. Chevy Camaro. Honda Odyssey. Toyota Sienna. Hybrid cars. Electric cars. Sports cars. Minivans.  He knows them all. He loves them all.

We've been talking about taking him to a car show forever. And I happened to find out totally last minute that our town was hosting one last night. So I fed the boys a quick dinner at home and then we headed down and spent the next hour exploring. He got to look under the hood and check out the engines. Peek inside and see the leather interiors. He showed me which cars had the flip up headlights and which ones had two exhaust pipes and he especially loved all the fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirrors. He had so much fun and kept telling me he never wanted to leave.

As a parent, it's an amazing feeling to see pure joy on your child's face. And tonight was definitely one of those moments. 

Porch love

The first thing I noticed when we came to see this house was the farmers porch. I immediately imagined sitting out there on Halloween to pass out candy. And being able to sit outside during a rainstorm. Two things I grew up doing on the porch at my parents house. 

It's pouring right now. And this is where I'm hanging out. Next month I'll be out here with a bowl of candy. 

Be brave

This has been a very long summer. We moved out of our house in Massachusetts at the end of June. For seven weeks the boys and I shuttled back-and-forth between my in-laws in New York and my parents in MA. Many days were spent outside playing at the beach, at pools and at playgrounds. We had a lot of fun and are grateful that we got to spend so much time with our family and friends before the official move to NJ. 

Two weeks ago we finally moved into the new house. It's a very strange feeling to be in a new house in a new state surrounded by new people. We're fortunate that we've met a few people and everyone's been so friendly and welcoming but most of our days are spent just me and the boys trying to find ways to keep busy. I know it won't be like this forever but for now it feels very lonely.  

So I'm really looking forward to school starting next week.  I'm excited for Nathan to make new friends and I know he'll love kindergarten but that first day ties my stomach into knots.  I am dreading the moment that Will and I have to bring him to school and drop him off knowing that he doesn't know anybody. 

I went out the other night to pick him up some new clothes for school and I saw this shirt. Be Brave. Adventure Awaits. I almost burst into tears. I don't know if this message was meant for Nathan or for me but I needed to hear it. 

I know he will love school. I know he will make friends. I know this place will start to feel like home soon. Until then, we just have to be brave. Our new adventure is about to begin.