Tuesday, February 28, 2017

6 Years Go By Fast....

Six Years go by fast......

In the world of parents to three kids who have moved four times in the past six years, life is going by pretty quickly and I wish it would slow down. Our journey since creating TINK INK Publishing has taken us from sunny, warm Arizona to snowy, cold Vermont to coastal, seasonal Connecticut. You may wonder which location we love the best and my reply is always "where we are now" as this is the place where God has put us for now. 

Writing and drawing were never a full-time gig for Emerson. It was his hobby. When an opportunity came up for him to switch companies and move our family to VT, he jumped on it. Not that he didn't love AZ (at the end of our 4 1/2 years there!) but the job was "too good" to resist. I must admit that I was quite humored when I found out we would be living in Killington, VT, the place where he and I first met back in April of 1994. 

As with some things that are seemingly "too good," it didn't take long for Emerson to realize that the promises that brought us to Vermont were definitely bigger than the payout. Nonetheless, we were able to spend a fabulous two winters with our kids in Vermont. Aside from the all important (to us) learning to ski, my favorite thing was that my kids were off the grid at home for the entire one year and seven 1/2 months that we lived there. 

Shutting down the internet and t.v. at home was something that I had thought about for a LONG time. My relationship with technology is definitely love/hate and I was ready for a change because I was tired of having any hate in my life! So when we got in to our rental after a temporary stay at a friends, I just never called the cable company to install anything. It was as simple as that.

It's funny how people actually feel sorry for you if you don't have a t.v. If you think about it, though, the kids are in school from 8 until 3 each day. When the weather was nice, we might stay at the playground for an hour or so after school. They had sports and homework most days. After dinner, there is just enough time for showers and it's off to read before bed. 

We did go to our local library very often. It was a beautiful, new, big library, very surprising for such a small town. Our youngest and I were regulars for story-times and we all took advantage of every kid program they offered. In fact, we were there so much that they offered me a part-time job! Absolutely thrilled, I took it and loved every second of my paid and unpaid library time. I think my kids mostly loved it because they had a bunch of public computers connected to the internet (!) but they did bring home stacks of books to read every week. Even if it was to get their tech fix, it was great that they loved going to the library as much as I do and I hope that love stays forever.

By the time we were leaving VT (which was 7 months after Emerson started working in CT - we weren't making any sudden moves this time!) we actually accumulated 4 t.v.s from the really empathetic souls who just couldn't bear the idea that we didn't have any t.v.s at home. I guess those people didn't realize that if you don't have cable, the t.v.s really don't work for anything other than to take up space in the basement. I think I always knew in my heart that our time in Vermont would be limited. I will always cherish the friends we made and the great fun we had living life in the Green Mountains. I hope the new renters were able to enjoy those t.v.s that we left behind.

Mona Colwell

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