The Saga Continues

The saga of our move continues…

I’ve been spending my days packing. I’m trying to get everything packed as soon as possible so we will be ready to move as soon as EJ finds us a house. Upstairs we have the library all packed, most of JJ’s room packed, and a good start on our master bedroom. Downstairs the media closet under the stairs is emptied, as well as the china cabinet, desks, and end table drawers. I will pack the kitchen and bathroom last–and only the nonessential things. Then we can start on the back porch and basement. Ugh. Not looking forward to those.

JJ has been very helpful to me as we pack. He carries items for me to pack and then carries then moves the filled boxes where I direct. Three times this week we have gone to Meijers, a store somewhat like Wal-mart, for more boxes. We have developed a system: We first shop for items we need, such as plastic totes. We are putting our more precious items like picture albums, extra-special books, and breakable keepsakes in the totes where they will be more protected. After we buy the items, we take them out to the car, and then return to the store. We go to the produce section, find a produce employee, and beg for empty boxes. They are always really friendly and they cheerfully go in the back rooms and return with a large double-decker cart full of empty apple and banana boxes. While JJ pulls the cart through the store, I hurry to the car and drive it up to the door. Then we stuff the car full of as many boxes as it can hold. Then JJ returns the cart and off we go home to back.

EJ has had a tough first week at his new job. Besides starting a new job, which I think is always overwhelming, he has been very sick. He said this is his in his top 5 list of “The Sickest I’ve Ever Been.”

And then last night EJ texted me that he had to have some documents and if he didn’t have them, he “couldn’t be here.” Seriously? You have got to be kidding! I didn’t know if that meant he couldn’t return to work until he had them or that he’d be fired. I had packed all the desks and drawers and important papers just the day before, so I wasn’t sure where to find the documents. So I unpacked boxes and went through all the paperwork, and found one but not the other. I continued my search this morning but couldn’t find the second document. Yikes! I saw our dreams disappearing!

As soon as EJ got out of work at 3 a.m., he started driving for home to retrieve the one document I found. He got home at about 8:30 a.m. It was really good to see him!!!!! He slept for a few hours. He had hardly slept all week because he was so sick. When he woke, I made him steak and eggs. He told me then that he only needed one or the other document, not both. Whew! He turned in the paperwork to the HR department and, since he hadn’t slept for about 25 hours, they said he didn’t have to come in to work tonight.

I’m so totally ready for less drama in our lives. There has been so many I almost crises in our lives that JJ and I keep quoting from a scene from The Emperor’s New Groove:

Uh-oh.
Don’t tell me. We’re about to go over a huge waterfall.
Yep.
Sharp rocks at the bottom?
Most likely.
Bring it on.

After EJ left, I drove JJ to the city to get his blood drawn in preparation for his appointment with his oncologist on Monday. JJ told me as we drove along that his Scoutmaster had said that the troop would help us load the vehicles when we were ready to move. I thought that was really nice.

We are totally excited about moving, but I recognize that there are also people in this area that we will miss.

JJ and I were really tired when we got home today so after we ate, we decided to take naps. JJ fell asleep right away, but I couldn’t sleep so I decided to take Danny for a walk. My poor dog hasn’t had a walk in a long time. February was filled with sub-zero temperatures and even lower windchills so I didn’t want to take him out. Also, there was a lot of ice making sidewalks and roads very slippery and both Danny and I often slipped. This last week the temperatures have skyrocketed and a lot of the snow has melted. There are huge patches of green. However, I have been so busy packing that I didn’t have time or energy to walk Danny. Today was so nice, though, and I feel sorry for Danny because as we pack more and more of the house, the boxes are taking up more floor space, so now JJ, Danny, the cats, and I have to navigate through a maze. Ok, not quite that bad, but it’s getting pretty crowded. I felt sorry for Danny so I took him for a walk. It was really nice to get outside. Danny was excited about his walk. Even though it’s only in the 40s, it felt very Springlike and kids were out in short sleeves playing basketball.

The sparrows are beginning to build their nests in the birdhouses. I really want to take the birdhouses with us, but I do not want to be responsible for the deaths of baby birds. I might have to leave them unless I can take them down after one group of babies have left the nest and the parents lay more eggs.