Okay, that maybe is a bit melodramatic. But, let's recap the last couple weeks, shall we?
.
The week of the move, I was sick as a dying dog. I could barely stand up on the day of packing and the next day, when they were loading the truck, I was positively wiped out. For me, those days were spent supervising the crew and cleaning my little heart out. (I had tried to hire someone to help me come clean, but she didn't return my calls until 4 days after I left town.)
.
I was feeling pretty rotten and weepy and begged out of dinner with Cara on my last day in central Georgia. I possibly didn't want to face the "goodbye" portion of the evening, so I just skipped it altogether. I'm a bit sorry now, as I miss her terribly. Not that one more weepy hug would have made me miss her less now.
.
Anyway, after a rocking friend (who'd kept my kids from 8am til 7 pm), brought the girls to me (so I wouldn't have to drive to her house, which is away from the interstate, and in the opposite direction I needed to travel), along with picking up dinner for the three of us on the way... I hit the road. On the way to Becca's, I remembered that I had pottery to pick up in the "city" that we'd painted two weeks before with my cousin, so that was a 10 minute detour, but we had to fill the gas tank anyway.
.
I can't tell you how grateful I am to Becca for putting the girls and me up for the night. Not only did she leave cough drops on my pillow, but she had cough syrup on the ready upon our arrival. What a gal! In spite of feeling like crap, I still managed to stay up too late. In the morning, after waking way too early, I was like a thief in the wee hours as I set off the house alarm in an attempt to gather our laundry out of the dryer (have I mentioned how welcoming Becca has been to me and my family?). Scurrying (can you picture me? scurrying?) upstairs as quickly as I could manage on my aching legs, I shook Becca awake and I swear she thought she was dreaming as I begged for her help to turn off the alarm. Isn't that how you like to wake up on a Saturday morning? Not to mention, my kids woke her daughter at, oh, 6:15 am. Yeah, we are sucky houseguests.
.
Anyway, I had a chunk of driving ahead of me and we made to my grandma's by lunchtime. We enjoyed a nice visit for two nights with my Dad's mom, whom we hadn't seen in 3 years. Then we headed east and spent one night with my Mom's mother. Aside from the fact that her house is almost literally a zoo - which the kids loved, by the way - we had a nice visit with her and her husband. That visit was even a bit too short, if I dare say. Though, I think next time, we might prefer to sleep at a hotel, since the girls and I were parked in the living room and were awakened at dawn by the parrots.
.
We had another uneventful day of driving and arrived ahead of schedule (again!) in the Baltimore area. That evening, the girls saw their first snowfall, 5 minutes after arriving at the house to show them what would be our new home.
.
2 days later, Thursday just over a week ago, our stuff was unloaded from the truck. It was the first time I've had the girls with me for any part of the actual movers process, if you don't count the hour they spent playing in the backyard the week before on packing day. I was nervous about keeping the girls out of the way of the movers and keeping them happy in the midst of the chaos. I shan't have worried as they were content playing and the movers were fast, so by the time we were dying for lunch, the truck and crew were gone, or mostly finished anyway.
.
We've been busy beavers, though for the past 10 days and I am pleased to say that we have one room left to finish unpacking. Of course, it is the school room, which means we still haven't gotten back on track with school. It looks like summer break is being flipped into a winter break and we will school for almost all of 2007 with only a 2-3 week break in the summer.
.
We are looking forward to a visit from my brother and his family this coming weekend, it will be the first time he has brought his family to see mine - ever. We haven't spent much time together since we've had children (over 7 years!) and I look forward to getting to know him as an adult.
.
So... I know this post is rather boring, but it gives you an idea what's going on with us and lets you know that we're still here. Oh, about the barely alive thing....
.
For those of you who might remember, a year ago, I learned I have a strange shoulder injury. After physical therapy and many months of pain, I was feeling better - and then we moved last summer and it got worse again. And I've tried to rest it since the summer, to let it heal. And it was feeling not-too-bad. Until we moved again. Between the scrubbing (repetitive motion) and moving of boxes and unpacking, this rotator cuff issue is at its worst. I've been in a lot of pain and this past weekend I didn't actually do much unpacking (God bless my husband for helping with so much stuff this weekend). Last night, on my way to check on something in the kitchen, I took a stumble and fell down the stairs. I didn't go face first, as my retarded husband assumed (and stopped himself ahem mid-stream and ran from the bathroom to check on me). But, as I was falling, I tried to catch myself and I fear I may have done some serious damage in that left shoulder. My upper arm is still searing, 20 hours later...
.
Damn stairs.
.
I'll be back soon. This has taken me a long time to type, with one and a half hands.
.
Hope you're well.
