Well, here we go. An attempt to catch-up from my much too long blog hiatus.
Celebrations that have passed: Thanksgiving, Owen's birthday, my birthday, Christmas, Christmas break, New Year's Eve.
Surely I could have found a few minutes to write about any one of those very important topics?? One would think so.... But the other thing going on in the midst of all that celebrating was that we MOVED. As in, packed up boxes and boxes of household
crap junk belongings, loaded three children into the van, spent a week mooching off family while homeless over Christmas, and landed in a new state about 845 miles away from our "home state" of the last six years. Yeah, I know, it sounds easy. It's not that easy.
And, just like the last time we moved (with children), I tip my hat to those families that undertake moves even more often than every six years or so. My parents, for instance, moved about every two years while my father was in the Navy. Every two years. With up to four children, a dog, two cats, and undoubtedly boxes and boxes of
crap junk household belongings. I do.not.see.how.they.did.it. It is all very stressful, this moving stuff. I anticipated the BIG stressful things: the loss of friends, the financial costs, the stress of meeting new people and learning a new area, unboxing everything, and all of that. What I probably underestimated are the millions of tiny ways in which everything is more difficult after a move. Things like being forced to input a Zip Code into the gas pump when you use your debit card, and not being sure if you should input your "old" or "new" Zip Code, and getting locked out of using that card for trying too many options. Or having to find a new doctor rather quickly, spending an inordinate amount of time on the internet looking for appropriate options with good reviews, filling out an inordinate amount of paperwork prior to the appointment, waiting an hour in the office and filling out even more paperwork, only to have the doctor come in and announce that he does not treat your condition (as you are days away from running out of your prescription). Yeah. It's things like that, that wear me down. Still, overall, I recognize that the move has gone well. I was very worried about a mid-year school change for the kids. We still have some kinks to work out, but that part went much more smoothly than I had expected. We got into the house (only one day later than planned), our belongings arrived mostly in one piece, the holiday travel was quite enjoyable, and the new neighborhood is friendly and social. It's all good. Time marches on, whether I blog about it or not. I am going to try to blog about it more now, however. Even if that means that sometimes I feel like Owen looks in this picture.
