And I Never Got to Say Goodbye
This doesn’t smell like my house. There are new weeds growing since we got the keys on Thursday and there are no condo association “guys” to come and obliterate them. We are the guys.
We’re also the guys who need to replace the refrigerator tomorrow. Crazy thing about us, we like freezers that FREEZE food. We also like outlets that provide power. Hence a call has been made to the electrician.
I have discovered that I have a “bum-leg”. It is my right leg and it doesn’t look like a bum. If I’m using that expression properly, I think it means that it just hurts a lot when I threaten to do something that smells of work. What a weird expression. I guess I could also say I have a “bum-finger” and a “bum-back”. But I wouldn’t risk saying “bum” anything to Laylee.
Yesterday I told her I was “pooped” and you can only imagine the hilarity that ensued. It was somewhat close to the Chaucerian 12-year-old-boyish delight I experienced when I found a typo online a couple of years ago about a disabled man who had been confined to a wheelchair after he was tragically “shat”. I can imagine that would do the body some damage.
The backyard is wonderful. Bamboo is taking over the world.
I actually packed dirty dishes and dirty laundry and I’m pretty sure I haven’t found them yet. I think they’re in a garbage bag somewhere with my brain… and possibly my digital camera. It may be a while before I post pictures of the house. I haven’t seen it since we got home from Houston (the camera, not the house).
I still feel like we made the right decision and this will be “home” someday, the home where our kids will spend a good portion of their growing-up years. But at this very moment it feels like some interlopers are about to honeymoon in my home and as I went to say goodbye to the old pad, I realized I had locked myself out with “their” keys to “their” new condo on the counter inside with a note welcoming them.
Yeah…”welcome”… and so help me if you don’t treat her well.
posted by Kathryn Thompson at 1:27 AM
22 Comments:
Shakespear comes to mind. "Parting is such sweet sorrow". It is hard to make that big change. It will probably take a while to get used to the new place,all right. We saw a little student produced play of "Much Adiu About Nothing" last Friday at BYU, and it has put me in a Shakespearian mind set. :) Congratulations on the move, and I hope your "bum" whatevers get better! Too bad about the ol fridge. You are right it IS better to freeze than not to freeze at all! :))))
6/26/2006 2:47 AM
P.S. First!
6/26/2006 2:48 AM
Welcome home! Sorry about the mess...
6/26/2006 4:22 AM
Hang in there, Kathryn. I'm sorry about the mess. One step at a time (if your bum leg will permit it).
Once you get the new fridge, that will be a bright spot - as will each box you unpack, each drawer you get loaded, each room you get organized.
Just remember, you are no longer under a deadline. Take time to rest when you are in pain. Take time to read to your kids (provided you ever find the boxes of books). Take time to talk to DYD when he gets home from work. The work will still be there tomorrow. It always is!
We love and are praying for you!
6/26/2006 4:43 AM
Moving is in the top three of that list... you know, the list that defines how much stress something causes a person, like divorce and death and speaking in front of a crowd. Moving is huge, Kathryn, but it does get better- you'll see the boxes start to disappear, just like Grammy says!
6/26/2006 5:31 AM
*sniff* It's hard to say goodbye. But yes, of course, this new house will feel like home, very soon. "Home" isn't a building, it's where your family is.
6/26/2006 6:01 AM
Can I say two words? Home Warrenty. I had one (when I had my house) and I loved it. Do some research you may have a local one (Like ABMay in KC) or you may have to go national. I had American Home Shield. It was wonderful for those little (cough) unexpected (cough cough) home repairs - like the air conditioning going out in August, or in your case the heater going out in January. It's worth it. It's just a thought. They can become your pseudo-condo guys.
6/26/2006 6:04 AM
Moving is my least favorite thing to do. We moved into our house 8 yrs ago and I have finally gone through almost every box! Now we are contemplating moving into a bigger house or putting an addition on, which either way will require us to pack up our stuff again! Some advice on unpacking, as you do...if you haven't used the item in two years, get rid of it, don't store it in boxes until you have to move again. :)
6/26/2006 6:19 AM
Awwww, wish I could give you a hug! Moving is tough, especially going to be tougher once you find that box with the dirty dishes :) At least your dishwasher works, right? please say yes because washing week old dirty dishes by hand would cause me to throw them out and go buy a whole new set.
6/26/2006 6:27 AM
It is sad to leave a piece of your past behind, but oh, what good memories you will make in your new home. When you find some supplies, bake your favorite thing. It does sound like more work, but your house instantly takes on that familiar smell! I also agree with Grammy, take it easy. Those boxes have no expiration dates stamped on them. Enjoy making this home!!
6/26/2006 9:39 AM
A great post... too bad I can't get past the poor man getting "shat."
(tee-hee snicker snort)
6/26/2006 10:32 AM
i always love your laylee conversations, so here is a conversation with my and my neice
me: hey hannah, wanna know a secret?
hannah: what hemi?
me: i'm going to be a mommy!
hannah [to her mommy]: mommy, hemi is going to have a baby, and i'm going to be the BABYSITTER!! [back to me] hemi, what are you going to name it?
me: hmmmm, i don't know, what do YOU think i should name it?
hannah: hmmm, [pause] i don't know either, maybe you should talk to uncle robby about that.
kids just say the funniest things
congrats on your new place, everything will be okay.
6/26/2006 11:02 AM
Leaving a home always leaves one with a sense of loss. It's been six years since my parents moved and I'm almost ready to forgive them. It's just such a wretch! But then I love the new place so much, I don't think I could trade it even for the old place. I look around my apartment and tell myself "You're going to have to leave in a year or two you know," and it's such a strange feeling.
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end," has been my mantra recently.
6/26/2006 1:22 PM
It is hard to say good-bye (Especially when you don't really get to). I remember saying "good-bye" to our little two bedroom apartment in Happy Valley. The whole time I lived there I just kept thinking "It will be so great to move on/up!" Then when we really did move on/up I realized it was the house I'd brought my boys home from the hospital to. And it suddenly became special and priceless and hard to leave.
But you know what? My new house has become special and priceless in its own way (and it's a whole lot bigger, I might add). Yours will too. Hang in there! The unpacking and the "bums" will pass. And you'll be able to start making memories in your new home!
6/26/2006 2:12 PM
Our move just got pushed back by two weeks. Good thing because I haven't even STARTED packing yet. Can we say 'procrastinate'??
Guess our lunch will have to be delayed a bit! :) hehe
6/26/2006 7:36 PM
oooh, I've packed dirty clothes during a move, too!
I think there is a grieving process when we leave a place where love has grown. Were the children born while you lived in the condo? See, love grew there!
6/26/2006 10:20 PM
It is so hard to leave sometimes, but once boxes are unpacked (maybe not all of them, if you are anything like me - I'm still not completely unpacked from our move over a year ago!) things will feel more like home!
6/26/2006 10:39 PM
At least you didn't pack a suitcase full of GARBAGE, including dirty diapers (not me, by the way).
Congrats, and pretty soon it'll feel like your house (that new fridge will certainly help).
6/26/2006 10:46 PM
Yay for moving!!! Give it a couple of weeks and it will feel like home! I hate that uneasy feeling though!
6/27/2006 7:05 AM
Welcome to your new home! I hope it feels that way soon. It is really weird going back and seeing a home you've loved with someone else living in it. Just avoid going near it, if it hurts.
6/27/2006 9:22 AM
Why were you in Houston?
That's where I grew up.
6/27/2006 7:44 PM
hey everyone, i love this blog!!!
6/28/2006 9:35 AM
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