One Step Forward…

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon, Mile 12

Two steps back. That’s how a journey often works, huh? At least in my experience that’s how the Willis Tribe rolls. We’re operating at a 50% happiness level right now. Chris is loving his new gig. He’s relishing the opportunity to pontificate, to think of intriguing questions and then to find the answers. He’s in […]

Gus 2.0

Gus

It’s true. He’s reinvented himself. As Andi so eloquently pointed out, he’s like Gus 2.0 now. And she’s right. I was beyond worried about my seventh grade boy. Middle school can be tough. And Gus is anything but tough. He’s quiet, sensitive, easily brought to tears. He marches to the beat of his own drummer. […]

Speed Bump

George

We hit it today. Our first stumbling block. I was very curiously watching the man in front of me in the carpool line hock long streams of yellow tobacco spit into the elementary school grass when George came out to greet me. “I want to move back to Indiana,” he announced as he climbed into […]

Lesson Plans

Mary Claire and George

They marched like little soldiers into their strange, new, unfamiliar buildings on Monday morning. In khaki shorts and button-down polos, they looked tidy, put-together, and more than a little bit nervous. I felt like I was throwing them to the wolves. And when I anxiously picked them up on Monday afternoon — maneuvering blindly through […]

And… They’re Off!

Kids on Their First Day of School

Today, they’re officially Yellow Jackets. New schools, new uniforms, new system, new state, new lunch codes, new student IDs. Sam is less than thrilled with his uniform. Collars? Shorts with buttons and zippers? You might as well ask him to wear a hairshirt. The second he spotted an untucked shirt at the high school, his […]

Reading Into It

The upside of moving to a town where you know absolutely no one is… books. Lots and lots of time for books. Lots and lots of books to fill my time. Unpacking my books was like Christmas. You see, I have a Book Problem. It is similar to my Shoe Problem. I buy lots of […]

Settling In

Photographs and Lamp

We are officially unpacked. Well, we’ve at least unpacked all of the boxes we intend to unpack. The rest, we’ve moved into the attic for long-term storage. Pictures are hung, dishes washed and put away, walls are painted, we welcomed our first dinner guests last night. I am beyond grateful to have instantly met a […]

Ring the Bell

Sam and Chris in Rain Ponchos

We’re back-to-school shopping. It’s the Mississippi state tax holiday today and tomorrow, so along with the rest of the state, we’re stocking up. And we’ve got lots of extra money to spend this year. You know why? No Mississippi public school registration fees! (You can’t see the ear-to-ear smile that’s splitting my face right now, […]

Georgeous

George with Multiple Ballcaps on His Head

My youngest has been on a roll since we arrived in Mississippi. He’s truly come into his Willis-ness by embracing his inner sarcasm and walking a fine line between funny and obnoxious. At 9, he tends to fall into the obnoxious realm more often than not, but we reel him back in and get him […]

Too Soon

Trees and Clouds

Good-night! good-night! as we so oft have said Beneath this roof at midnight, in the days That are no more, and shall no more return. Thou hast but taken up thy lamp and gone to bed; I stay a little longer, as one stays To cover up the embers that still burn. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow […]