... when one door closes another one opens and that is the case for us. We are tearing though box after box and trying to make sense of the chaos. The boys rooms are set up (for the most part), but #2 is living in wall to wall PINK. Thankfully he is too young to care ... and thankfully (again), #1 hasn't teased him about having the PINK room while he has the BLUE room. Paint is on the way ... but not for a few weeks.
All has gone surprisingly well with the move. The boys are rolling with it and doing much better than initial signs pointed. After 4 days of no sleep in the hotel (why sleep when you can watch planes land at the airport and cars/taxis/buses cruise the street below?) we all crashed as soon as our beds were moved off the moving trucks. All of that careful attention to packing readily available clean sheets made no difference in the end. A.) is it something other than the floor? and B.) is there something around for me to put on top of me and feel like it is a cover? Check and Check ... we were all good.
The whole thing is a whirlwind ... packed up on a Tuesday, moved out on Wednesday -- walked the boys through the house saying "good-bye room" to each nook and cranny late Wednesday night. Sold our home Thursday morning ... had lunch ... picked the kids up from school ... Bought a new house Thursday evening ... went back to the hotel for pizza and champagne and some sort of "rest." Mr. Right met the moving trucks at 8AM Friday morning to begin unloading, I dropped the little boys at school and checked out of the hotel. I also indulged in a LONG ... HOT ... shower. It was my last for quite some time. Kind of like that shower the morning before a pack trip at TVRC. You don't really know what to do, other than savor it. Anyway, the unloading from the trucks took all day on Friday and until 2pm on Saturday. We've been unpacking for the last full week.
It is now day 9 in the new house and it is starting to feel like ours. Our stuff is in and thanks to fabulous friends and family, mostly unpacked. We've starting doing things to make it ours ... and more of that comes with each new day. There is a WHOLE LOT of painting to do in the next few months, but it will come with time. There are also some new bunk beds (for #1's 5th birthday in a few weeks) that has added excitement and added bedtime trouble. The bunk beds mean that #2 finally gets to dump the crib. He's slept in a bed while on vacations, but never at "home." So at the worst possible time - major transition for a small child and possible trauma - sure, let's go ahead and put #2 in a big boy bed. Let's just say that bedtime has been enough to make me swear off any thought of ever adding a #3 to this mix.
This week we start to focus on Thanksgiving! We are thankful for so much, but the ever obvious right now ... dear friends that have swooped in and made this move possible - taking/entertaining the kids while the grown ups worked and feeding us with good food, drink and company to make the monumental tasks seem somewhat manageable. And family! the reinforcements that have given, and will continue to give, a sense of calm over the chaos. houses change, but "home" will be made again, once more. My Mother-In-Law hung pictures (and much more) over the weekend and it has made all the difference. We are also thankful for the family that will not be with us over the next few weeks - those that can't travel in prep for JDB's next surgery - wish you were here and what a year it has been. And this time of year, is always the time when I reflect most on my big boy ... #1. He is nearly FIVE and I don't even know how to put that in words. In some ways, he should be 25 - he tells me all day long how he's got the whole world figured out ... and how I just don't. Then in others, there is still an innocent joy and delight in pitching a good ball, kicking a goal, etc. that makes me melt. All of those things that are so raw and sweet ... I hope they stick
(for both of us) more than the memories of me taking away every single privilege of the week while he back-talks me all day long.
Family reunion coming soon. Thanksgiving 2001 was in the old house with me 40+ weeks pregnant with #1. After a lovely Thanksgiving meal and freak out, we spent the day after Thanksgiving walking around town with a stop or 2 to the hospital to say - "are you sure I'm not in labor?"... "No ... No ... well, yes. Yes you are in labor and you're staying here." I've never seen my siblings so scared ... or maybe they were just creeped out at the time. Who knows. I was certainly creeped out. So now, every Thanksgiving after pales in comparison, but they are fun family times nonetheless. Mom and Dad are leaving the south and my brother and sister-in-law are bringing my newest nephew to his other "home" country. They are braver than I am to hop the pond with an infant. I cannot wait to get my hands on this sweet ... LITTLE ... guy! What can I say ... Thanksgiving just seems to bring more boys!
2 comments:
Hope you can post some pictures - would love to see the new digs! For me, it was always the shower AFTER the pack trip that was the most savored. Especially after having to sleep next to ya'll night after night crammed under a tarp. ;-)
Did you have the boys sweep the dirt outside of your old house before you left?!
Ha! The tarp stunk because we were there after boys' season.
Yes, they actually did sweep dirt before we left the old house. It is called an "activity." We did those kinds of things in a house without a yard. :) Vacuuming is also a favorite activity.
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