THE BIG MOVE

So. We made it. Not without a few bruises and snotty remarks, but we're here.

Even with the amount of time we had to plan and my usual organizational typhoon, we were still scrambling at the end. Cleaning, all those odds and ends you just don't know what to do with or how to pack. Didn't help that Erick had to be in Portland the day of our move. Although, I did the La Grande end and he did the West Linn end, so it evened out.

Quinn and I spent some time saying 'see ya later' ('cause Goodbye isn't what it is, hell, we're planning a trip back in July) to some friends. Lyn came over on Tuesday evening for dinner and some quality time with Quinn.

Conner and his mom, Lynda, were over taking plants from our garden (some doomed since Fred's going to chop down my fir tree about thirty seconds after I leave - that was our deal), so the boys hung out in the house off and on, taking a break from dirt and shoveling.


On Wednesday a friend's daughter, Betsey, did me the huge favor and came to hang out with Quinn while I packed his room and got a lot of other things accomplished. You should have heard the giggling and hysteria.

The movers showed up on Thursday at 9 am and were gone by 4:00. I thought it wouldn't take them that long, but when you wrap all the furniture in blankets and all that, it takes a bit of time. They were nice guys and Quinn followed them around, helping put stickers on furniture and asking tons of questions: "Hey, Dan, what's that you're doing called??"; "Dave, Dave, Dave! I wanna use that tape!"; "Jacob, I don't think that's gonna work!". He was a hit and had a great time.

Our pal Amy dropped by with Nolan and sat in Quinn's empty room with us while the movers finished up. He's only two months old, but he looks about ready for preschool. Almost weighs as much as Quinn! He put up with all of us pretty well, I think.

Quinn wanted to help out with the pacifer business, and couldn't quite understand why Nolan kept losing it. He did want to touch his head and said "He's SO cute!" a lot. He's got good taste.

After the movers left and I stared dumbly at the pile of things I was now supposed to fit in my car along with myself and my son. We went to dinner with Lynda, Conner and Laura. Nothing but crumbs in the cabinets at our house. Quinn was working on half a tank with no nap for a couple of days, so he was not interested in the pizza or sitting still. All I wanted was a pain pill and a beer. Not necesarily in that order.

I just couldn't leave this house unless the wood floor was gleaming like a new penny. Those drapes? We had to leave them for a while since we somehow busted the curtain rod that was there when we moved in; didn't want to leave Fred with a wide open window indefinately. We'll pick them up in July.

We got to our new house in West Linn about 4 pm on Friday. Poor Erick was about to stroke out 'cause there was a pile of boxes on the back patio that made it pretty clear that we had too much stuff for our humble abode. He had to run out and get a storage unit after the movers left, so we showed up to a locked door. Good thing Debby was there and let us in.

And then I almost had a stroke. Now, I am not a horder or someone who can deal with clutter. It makes me nervous and cranky. I was glad to hear that the movers were coming back the next day to haul the stuff on the patio to the storage unit; and good thing 'cause that next afternoon it started to rain and hasn't stopped since.

Here Q is asking to be packed away. I hate these popcorn things - only had them since my father shipped an antique table to me a couple of years ago. Couldn't hardly pass up anything to do with packing.

At the new place Q set to getting his room in order. One of the first things was to put up his glow-in-the-dark stars. Under his moon. All was right with the world.

We've been here for ten days. Finally have internet, but no cable. And, honestly, I'm seriously thinking of canceling the order - gotten used to no tv. We've scoped out the nearest park (4 blocks away), the nearest preschool (across from the park!) and the nearest everything. Our trips will be all in one day and if we miss something, it will have to wait until the next week. The library is wonderful, with lots of activities and great librarians. We've been twice already. The area is very green with lots of trees and such; forgot how much I missed it. Many walking opportunities with hills for a challenge.

Now if only the rain would stop for thirty seconds....