Moving Day is Fun - Said No One Ever

I GET IT!  I really do.  "Why don't you hire someone to pack for your move?" they said.  "I can do it myself like I always have!" said I.  What I did not take into account was in the 12 years since our last move, we have collected more and as hard as it is to believe, we are now 12 years older.  So......although I understand why people hire help I don't know if I could.  Too many decisions to make along the way.

I really don't feel my 'age', whatever that means.  And in the normal course of events, I don't feel any older.  But carrying over 100 boxes up a long flight of stairs has a way of making you feel those aging joints.  After a couple weeks of packing and purging, I realized I had built muscles.  That felt great.  Considering I will now be walking up and down stairs several times a day and also carrying the dogs (their legs are too short and they are too old to make it up by themselves) I will hopefully maintain some of those newly built muscles. 

It took two weeks to pack and three to unpack.  There were six or seven trips to the dump and a few to the thrift store.  Saying goodbye to things I had not used for many years was a good feeling - even though there was a twinge of sadness once in a while.  It was difficult putting things in storage that my son had given me.  But I no longer needed the daily reminder that he is no longer in my life.  Not having things in my vision on a regular basis will help ease the pain in the long run.

My business was put on hold.  Actually, my life was!  I certainly tried to stay on top of the daily routine of emails, phone calls and my zillion jobs - basically, it was still put on hold.

I am extremely glad that I stayed in the 'old' house to clean while the movers unloaded at the new one.  Although the moving company had terrific reviews, I later found out that the owners had recently gone through some heavy personal and emotional issues and turned to alcohol.  They arrived hung over and too tired to move.  We have heavy furniture.  A piano.  Oak bedroom furniture.  A cedar cabinet that is six feet high.  I held my breath and didn't watch.

Later, I wondered how my large plants got crushed as they were standing up in the van.  Apparently, the movers thought the plants were a good place to put sofa cushions on top!

 

When they arrived at the new residence, my husband was sergeant major.  He kept yelling for them to wipe their feet because the driveway is not complete yet.  It was raining.  The mud, gravel, and sand were everywhere. 

The house was not quite ready for residency which meant that on MOVING DAY there were 13 construction workers doing finishing touches, three guys from the moving company, hubby, and friends.  It was like a moving party except it was not fun.











Our first guests were daughter Rochelle and kiddos.  What a delight to have them come for a visit.  Rochelle asked me several times if she could help with the move for a few days.  But I kept insisting that when she came for a visit I wanted her to be able to relax, not work.  It was nice to have everything done when they were here and what fun we had - especially with all the new places to play hide and seek!

 




















Two-year-old Brie is a force to be reckoned with.  Like most toddlers, she has boundless energy.  As in the past, my greatest delight is to watch her six-year-old brother interact with her.  He is so responsible and caring.  Brie will tease him, even throw the occasional toy at him to see what he will do.  He 'corrects' her gently and explains that this is not acceptable behavior.  What six-year-old does that!  

Brie is fearless.  She got up on the quad and started it.  Fortunately, her legs were not long enough to reach the pedals but she figured out how to start it just by observation.   
















 


They loved the new bathtub and with it being deep the splashing stayed IN the tub.










Even though most of the work is done, I wonder how long it takes to actually feeling settled.  I wander around my kitchen aimlessly looking for stuff.  As organized as I think I am, when friends helped me organize the kitchen, it may take months before I find what I am looking for.  Wouldn't have it any other way.  What an adventure!  

This is a Fly on the Wall post where bloggers share their adventures monthly.  Have a buzz around and be a fly on the wall at these awesome blogger's homes:

Baking In A Tornado
Menopausal Mother
Bookworm in the Kitchen
Spatulas on Parade
The Bergham Chronicles

                                                                                                                  

Is There A Secret to Stop Doing Stupid Things?

Sometimes I do dumb things.  At the time they don't seem so stupid, but hindsight is a great teacher.  I was speaking at a conference for three days last month and was hosted in a beautiful home.  After arriving at my destination, I wanted to wash my hair quickly and assumed the bathtub was the best place to do that.  I knelt on a throw rug and s t r e t c h e d my neck to reach the bathtub faucet.  About an inch shy of the faucet, I stretched some more by "standing" on my tip toes.  There!  I could do this!

BUT.....the rug slipped out from under me and I landed on the metal edge of the shower track on the tub.  I heard the noise and before the pain set in, I said out loud "NO!"  I heard my ribs crack.  My mind raced wondering how I was going to stand in high heels while speaking each day for a few hours let alone carry boxes of my books into the venue.

I managed and no one noticed.  But when I got home and relaxed later that week, the pain intensified.  Funny how that works.

I was excited to be featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul's Newsletter at this event.  I was selling my books as well as the Chicken Soup ones I have written a contribution.

Does one dumb thing lead to another?

Making the World a Kinder Place Starts at Home

I bet there are many times in our lives when we would love to be a fly on the wall and know what goes on behind closed doors of our friends' homes.  This monthly blogging challenge gives us that opportunity each month and I thoroughly enjoy hearing my friends share their stories.

This past month, although busy as always, was rather uneventful.  I know that much of the country was hit with unusually severe snowstorms.  Living in the Pacific North West in an area that rarely sees snow, Mother Nature gave quite the performance.

In our area, we do not even have snow removal equipment. Normally, we don't need it. However, this year we broke all records for snowfall. It certainly was beautiful but our town, our highways, schools, businesses, banks, basically everything shut down for a few days.  

Here is a picture of the first day's snow and by the time it stopped snowing we had over three feet.  There were no tire tracks on our roads -- only footprints.  It was so beautiful.  

My daughter called me a week before the snowstorm as she and her little ones were struck with that terrible flu that put many people flat on their backs for more than a couple weeks. She would not have asked me to help her unless it was serious.  When she called at 5 A. M. on a Sunday morning, I knew it was serious.  

There were no flights available so I had to make the seven-hour car trip to find all three of them terribly sick.  I was so happy to have the time and the opportunity to be there and lend a hand.

One thing that will stick in my mind forever is watching my five-year-old grandson, who never got off the sofa for a week, be considerate and kind to his one-year-old sister when she wanted his attention.  He would gently tell her that big brother was too sick to play but that he loved her very much.  

When he needed a glass of water he would ask using his best manners - please and thank yous.  It's great to be proud of your kids and grand-kids, but when you see them behave in such a manner, it is button-busting. He had bouts of throwing up regularly, and yet he never whined or cried.  He apologized for doing it and was sorry Gramma and Mama had to clean it up.

Once again, my hat is off to his mama for raising thoughtful, kind and polite children. People, even strangers, often ask her what her secret is to having such courteous and mannerly kids.  

Getting up one morning, my daughter strongly suggested I head home as a storm was approaching.  I didn't believe her because we don't get snowstorms!  But I am certainly glad I listened because I made it home a few hours before the storm hit.

It was awesome to be housebound for almost a week.  I wrote articles, met deadlines, and got caught up with interviews and work I had to postpone the previous week while tending my family.  Crazy how things work out!

Hope you had a great month and I also hope you take a moment to check out some of the other stories here:

Baking In A Tornado                   

Menopausal Mother                     

Searching for Sanity                

Eileen’s Perpetually Busy            

Spatulas on Parade                   

A Little Piece of Peace                 

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy          

Cluttered Genius                 

Do You Want Your Kids To Follow Your Example?

Whether we like it or not, our lives are mirrors to our children. Often their actions are a direct reflection of the example they see in us.  When they say or do something that makes us smile inside, we know the message we have tried to instill in them has taken root.

Thomas' first day of school.  I was surprised that four-year-olds now went to school for the WHOLE day.

Daughter Rochelle was at the bank with 4-year-old Thomas and baby Aubrie.  As he does in every public place, Thomas introduced himself to the bank teller, who was a woman of color.  In the small town where they live, Thomas rarely sees anyone with a different color of skin.

"Hi, my name is Thomas.  What's yours?"  Smiling the teller replied and Thomas proceeded to introduce the rest of his family....which he does every time.

"This is my mommy and my little sister, Brie."  Then with an intent look at the teller, he continued.  "Brie likes all people."

Anyone within hearing distance smiled and nodded.

Made My Month!

My 4-year-old Grandson has Questions about His Recent Marriage

When you live a crazy life, you should expect crazy things to happen.  When you keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results, you are the crazy one.  I constantly look to the future when life will get easier, slow down a bit and then laugh out loud when I realize that may never happen.

To explain:  I have a lot of jobs, often wearing three or four hats at the same time on any given day.  This is normal for a Type A personality who is a perfectionist and believes that relaxing or sleeping is a complete waste of time.  Don't give me any lectures -- I've heard them all.  Most important thing:  I am NOT complaining. I love being busy.  

Consequently, the thought of doing this month's Fly on the Wall post seemed a bit overwhelming because so much happened in the past two months and it would be a really
l o n g post to share it all.  

View from my room

One highlight I will share with you is that I attended the Advanced Writers and Speakers Conference in Cincinnati and look forward to going back next year.  I learned so much in the workshops, made some incredible connections, made, even more, friends and got to see what it is like to live in 97-degree heat with high humidity.  

Our days were filled from early morning to late evening without time to shop or have any 'me' time -- loved it.  I certainly was not bored for one second.

I left the hotel each day to get to the closest restaurant - that was enough heat to last me until next year.  How do people live, work or BREATHE in that?

Sooooooooo........rather than bore you with all the incredible things that happened the last two months, I decided to do some snippets of the grandkids and their antics.

4-year-old grandson gets married

Perfect Little Angels?

No one is perfect and no one has perfect kids.  We hope for the best and when they surprise us with respectful behavior, we are proud.  I never tolerated rude, obnoxious, disrespectful behavior from my children and am appalled at parents as they look the other way when their kids misbehave.

Recently I was in a restaurant and observed a mother with three young children sitting within earshot. It was quite obvious she was a single mom and her children were polite, quiet as well as courteous to the waitress.  As I was leaving, I approached the mom and apologized if she thought I may have been eavesdropping.  "I want to applaud you as a mom.  It was a pleasure to have dinner next to your family.  You should be very proud at how well behaved and polite your children are."  She agreed that she was very proud of them and thanked me for making her day.