8 - 2009 - RodneyOlsen.net

Ever felt like the new kid at school? I did on Saturday morning.

I have to admit that I was fortunate enough to grow up in the one home for the first 16 years of my life. That meant that I went to only one primary school and only one high school. I never had to be the new kid at school. Obviously starting school as a 5 year old and then moving on to high school at the age of 14 were both monumental moments but I was never the kid who turned up in the middle of the school year having to get to know a whole new bunch of kids and a whole new system.

On Saturday I had to find a new group of cyclists to join for a Saturday morning ride. There was all the apprehension of, “What if I can’t ride at the same pace? What if I don’t fit in?” I was the new kid but I need not have worried.

I turned up and stopped near a friendly looking guy. We got chatting, exchanged first names and then he asked me where I work. I told him that I work in radio at Sonshine FM and he said, “So you’re Rodney Olsen. I thought I recognised your voice.” We talked a little more about the impending ride and then it was time to form into a group.

The riders usually split into three groups but with the rainy conditions they were down on numbers so we stayed as one group. Given the choice I would have joined the ‘B’ group and they said that we were going to ride at a ‘B’ group pace. Suited me.

I found the ride a little bit of a stretch in a couple of places, which I liked, but most of the time I was quite comfortable. By the time we got back to the shop I felt great but a few of the other riders were feeling a bit smashed. Apparently they felt that the group was riding more at the ‘A’ pace than ‘B’.

One of the main things I miss about our old home is the group of guys that I used to cycle with each Saturday morning. Some of us have been riding together for many years so it was tough to say goodbye and know that I won’t get that regular Saturday morning company again. While the new group isn’t quite the same I’m sure I’ll form some new friendships. I’m already looking forward to the next ride.

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I haven’t been around here for a while. I’m sure that you figured out that it’s nothing you said or did, it’s more the fact that we’ve been moving house.

We are now proud co-owners, with the bank, of our lovely new home. Well, it’s new to us. It’s actually an eight year old home but it’s so much nicer than the home we sold. And the best part? It already feels like home. In fact, it felt like home almost as soon as we got here last Wednesday.

We are surrounded by boxes and our days have been filled with wondering what goes best where. We’ve also had a few friends and family members dropping in to see our new place. The busyness is sure to continue for quite a while. I had last week off work to help make the move happen and this week off work to try and get things in some kind of order. We’re discovering all the things that don’t quite suit our style of living and making plans to make the minor changes required to have it even more feel like ‘our place’.

The new home is within walking distance to the school that Emily and James are attending. Up until now, Pauline had been driving around 130 km a day to drop them off in the morning then to go back and pick them up in the afternoon. We had planned this move last year and so Emily and James started at their new school in February, at the beginning of the new school year. We had imagined that Pauline might have a few weeks of driving that distance. We never imagined that it would be over half a year.

It’s so very good to finally be here and settling in.

I certainly couldn’t write this post without acknowledging the fact that so many people helped make this happen. I won’t start mentioning names because I’m sure to forget someone. I’ll just say that from our real estate agent to family members, friends from our old church, friends from our new church and various other dear friends, this whole process has been an incredible team effort. Those who have helped may never know just how much we have appreciated their kindness and extreme generosity.

We also need to thank God for teaching us so much about patience and for providing the right home at exactly the right time.

It’s good to be home.

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Archive - August 10, 2009