Tales of Me and the Husband

what a dumb post title but guys, it’s almost midnight and i have been moving shit all day and it’s the first thing that came to mind.  the lockers, my dear lockers (you remember?), well they just don’t fit in this house.  in fact, very little does.  i tweeted this today so bear with me if you’ve already read it but… when downsizing, here is my best advice: throw it away.  all of it.  every last bit.

seriously though, we bit the bullet and hired movers.  steve did not have the fortitude to do it all himself and i don’t blame him.  because four men (himself included) worked like dogs (very sweaty ones) from 8 till 4 with a 26-foot box truck plus a 14-foot one and then and only then managed to get it all into the house.  it also makes me appreciate how much steve (and william, really) did on the other end–packing it up and getting it out (for which we didn’t hire movers).  i never took it all in at once, never saw the amount of it.  in a word: woah.  don’t ask me if i can walk through my room (i can’t).  don’t ask me if it’s all a terrible fire hazard (it is).  so, the movers came, and dammit, i am thrilled to be pregnant but it’s all, “is this too heavy?!” and then you find yourself giving it a try and lifting things you shouldn’t and having the mover tell you, “ma’am, you shouldn’t be lifting that” and, well, pregnancy and moving don’t mix.  basically, i’m worthless.  i still haven’t stopped all day, but there are things you just can’t do.

oh, and when the movers came, what’s the first thing that came out of trucks?  even before the how do you do’s?  a big ‘ol open box of tampons.  there was no one to claim it but me.  we moved past it.

moving on.  i watched it all come into the house with wide eyes and asked steve, “is that the last of it?” too many times to have him tell me, “umm… 2/3 of the truck is still to go.”  i promise we are not pack rats… furthest thing from it in fact.  we both relish throwing out but my gosh there’s still a lot of stuff.  i should’ve just entitled this post “stuff.”  we joked, more than once, that we were going to have a big bonfire, invite the neighbors, roast s’mores.  what are we burning?  oh, just our stuff.  all of it.

so what is the moral of this story?  don’t buy things.

and the lockers aren’t gone gone, they’re just in the shed.

and finally, i promise not to talk about moving again this week.  hold me to it.

oh!  and pictured above… a plant from a kind neighbor to welcome us.  and yes, technically a plant is more stuff but handing it back would be a) rude and b) i have a brown thumb so this is actually temporary stuff…. (but oh i do love this fern!)

too many add-ons.  my apologies.

so, our house is no longer our house though i find myself referring to it as such still and catching myself because there’s other people and other people’s things there now.  if i let myself really sit in those feelings, and the fact that i may never lay eyes on those rooms anymore, i’ll get really sad.  just before we closed, i ran upstairs to both check on any forgotten item and to have a moment, and my eyes just filled up with tears.  meanwhile, the new owner is right behind me (i didn’t realize that!) already moving things in and doing a final walk-through, and i had to immediately regain composure because… who wants to be sitting there crying in front of a perfect stranger?  anyway, it was a short moment, it had to be, because off we went to the closing while parker and william watched cars in the parking lot the entire time and our realtor had to leave to go pick lindsey up from camp because her arranged ride fell through and… you get it.  hectic.  not really a moment to feel, to eat, to sleep.  am i even making sense now?

when we began this move, everything was so organized.  all credit to steve, whose praises i can’t sing loudly or longly enough.  he has more fortitude than anyone i’ve ever known.  by far (by faaaaar) the majority of this move fell on his shoulders and he did it with the most gracious attitude i’ve ever seen.  in, most often, 90 degree heat too.  i never could have done it.  i am really not sure how he did (well, with a lot of help from william who was never far and was always willing.  thank god for that boy.).  so far, we haven’t even hired movers (moving is already so dang expensive!) but before all is said and done, we might.  our stuff remains in storage until we have our new house to move it into.  anyway, where was i?  oh yeah.  the beginning of moves.  there’s such rhyme and reason, a place for everything.  and then, at the end, it’s so crazy and willy-nilly that things just begin being thrown into boxes that make no sense and that you may very well never unearth again.  is that always the way?  it felt like such a fiasco at the end, literally until the minute we left the house for the last time.  no time for sentimentality!  just keep packing!

i’m glad to say the process selling our house went quite well and it’s a really lovely couple we handed the keys over to.  we also left them some local beer and wine, a card, and a pretty plant… all in the hopes that if we’re desperate, maybe they’ll open the doors to us once again so we can see the changes they made, see our old rooms.  i’ve always loved the thought of having a good relationship with your new owners so you can go back in your old home, so that they feel free to ask you questions they might have about the house.  it’s how it should be.  and, on the other side of things, there’s some settlement/title issues to work out, none of which i really understand the importance of (or why it has to be so complicated!), but it’s delaying us getting into our new home a bit.  things are really good between us and the seller though, so we’re grateful.  and hopeful–that we’ll be in there soon.

and hopeful too, that when all is said and done, we’ll still have some summer left to just relax and enjoy some days at lake winnipesaukee.  can’t tell you how much i want to lay eyes on that place.

as for us now?  i’m in new jersey with parker, and steve’s on his way to minnesota with william, lindsey, and jordan–driving!  we’re going to be together in a week and i miss my people already.  last night i sat down to dinner at my mom and dad’s house–some incredible chicken dish and a big salad–and relished in a home cooked meal by someone other than me, and the order all around, followed by a full night’s sleep… and, what i’m saying is, i’m going to enjoy my time this week.  before the second phase of chaos starts: moving IN.

oh, and amidst all this, we know what we’re having!  could that be any more of a little addendum after all of this nonsense?  last week there was a crazy day (crazy is becoming a bit of a theme here, yes?) of uhaul and storage and company (steve’s parents, who just left a few days ago!) while i’m checking the time like, “oh, steve!  ultrasound time!”  so… yes!  we know what sort of little person we’ll be welcoming to the family in december but since this post is about anything other than having a baby, i really need to do justice with a post of its own.  poor baby (i promise, i do think about you all the time!).

and thanks to all of you for all the love and congratulations both here and on instagram!  we’re feeling it over here!!

alright.  i better just sign out now.  no more of this saga.  the adventure continues!  hope you all are well and having fabulous summers full of fun and watermelon.