Head 'Em Up. Move 'Em Out.

Oh blessed internet, how I have missed thee. 
I know we have lots of catching up to do. It's possible this has been the busiest week in the history of my life. We sold a house. We packed a house. We moved our belongings into a storage unit. We moved the family into Grandma Sue's cozy (read: small) cottage. We bought a house. We moved our belongings from storage to the new house. Both children got pinkeye. I got a stomach bug. I gave Thor the stomach bug. We still haven't found our forks or underwear.

Hey y'all -

We spent most of last week packing to move, which, like every other move ever, was overwhelming. You always start out with the best of intentions - putting related items in a box together, padding them appropriately and labeling them clearly. After a few days of that, you start to think, "Well, if something breaks, that's one less thing I'll have to unpack." In the final throes, you start hurling completely unrelated objects into boxes or bins and labeling them "Misc." Ah, Misc. How I loathe you.

Brooke and Todd came over to help us on our next-to-last day, and brought along Brooke's mom, who was visiting. I know that when I go on vacation, my list of Relaxing Things To Do includes: sitting by a pool, drinking fruity rum drinks and helping some yahoo pack her things and move.

Brooke and her mom remind me a lot of Peg Peg and me. Boxes that were packed by Janie contained items from the same area of the house, and were labeled in minute detail: 2 Cups, 1 Mug, Stoneware Bowl Wrapped In Blue Napkin. Ceramic Bunny In Dish Towel. Be Careful When Opening. Sometimes, they even had additional instructions on a sheet of paper inside the box. Boxes packed by Brooke could include one snow boot, a bath toy, a wall clock, a sippy cup and a hammer. Let me be very clear: I am NOT complaining. I am eternally grateful for the help, because without them, I'd probably still be sitting on that living room floor, crying and wondering whether I should keep that Tupperware bowl.

These are the pictures that Brooke took on move-out day:

Packing up and leaving Ed's Creek was an emotional process for me. Thor and I moved there before we were married. We brought two children home from the hospital to that house, and Gus is buried in the yard. I don't know why, but I thought a lot about Gus that week. I thought about Laney as a baby, learning to walk in the driveway. The hours we spent on the swings. The parties and play dates and new teeth and old friends.

As Brooke was walking Cedar out the door that afternoon, she told Cedar, "Say goodbye to Laney's house!" Cedar said, "Bye, Laney's house!" Ugh - that was a killer.

Sue came out to help that day, too, and volunteered to take Laney to a birthday party in town while we finished packing. Laney put on her party outfit and hopped out the door, saying, "Bye, Mom! Bye, house!" and she just looked so damned grown-up. Hagen's still young enough that we'll make a whole new set of baby memories, but I really felt like leaving that house, I was driving away from Laney's babyhood. Sue pulled out of the driveway with our big girl AND all of my boxes of clothes, which meant I was left at the house in only my pajamas.

After I finished cleaning and packed the last box and closed the door behind me one last time, I met Thor in the driveway. "Thor, isn't this a little heartbreaking? Aren't you going to miss this house?" He said, "I've driven 19 round trips up and down that potholed road in the last two days. No."

Behold the logical mind.

As for me, I got into the Subaru, took one last look at the house in my rearview mirror, and cried all the way to town in my pajamas.

Love,
Mom