Friday, August 03, 2007

A Move in Progress


I haven't posted in so long because, for the last several weeks, we have been moving. I mean, there was an actual move date, but the whole process has been going on for a while. We are only getting just a little bit settled right now.

And let me tell you, it is all I can do some days to keep the panic and utter mania at bay.

The problem is, every other time we have moved I have been able to actually unpack. The last time we moved Luke was one year old, and he took a long afternoon nap, during which time I would unpack as furiously as possible until I collapsed on the bed beside Luke for a quick snooze before he woke up. This sounds heavenly now. Almost up there with sleeping in, eating chocolate for breakfast, and having a pedicure while reading a book. Seriously.

Because now, this is what a day is like: wake up at 5 am, read books to the kids for two hours so they won't tear up the tenuous order we have begun to establish in the house, feed them breakfast, wake Craig so he can work, take the kids out of the house so they won't tear up the house and/or bug power-tool-wielding Craig, come home, feed them lunch, try to get Henry down for a nap, make some dinner and do some dishes and laundry. Okay, you get the picture. There is not a lot of unpacking going on, at least on my end.

This is all made much, much worse by Henry's recent development from Happy People Pleaser into Psycho Independent Man. This really deserves its own post, which it shall receive, but suffice it to say that our nights have been less than peaceful, what with Henry waking every few hours and lurching around the house screaming at the top of his lungs for whatever thing he has decided he needs at 2 am. I mean, nursies, cheese and books in those early, pre-dawn hours all sound reasonable to you, right?

I should have known that it would not be a peaceful move when we wound up leaving our car in Chicago on the day of the move. Who leaves their car behind? Oh, yes, and the vomiting on the airplane. Me. Vomiting for much of the flight while trying to take care of Luke and Henry by myself.

And now, the nightmares. A few nights ago I dreamed that we got in trouble for having such a long lawn, and so, since we don't have a lawnmower yet, Craig mowed it with a weed trimmer. The next night, I dreamed I was in Jenny's kitchen shredding chicken with my new suburban friends, who started lecturing me about Luke's behavior. We don't even really live in the suburbs, it is just that Worthington, Ohio is so very suburban compared to Chicago.

Every day I alternate, several dozen times, between giddy elation and despair. We are living in a house for goodness sake! With a yard! This in opposition to a small, two bedroom apartment in a dorm, where we were responsible for 78 undergraduates. There is parking at all of the stores, where the workers are friendly! There are lots of beautiful trees and parks. But, alternately, these parks are empty. Everyone must be hanging out in their own large backyards. And so, I stand out even more, the lone mom sitting on top of the playground equipment nursing my toddler, getting ready to return to my long-lawned house full of boxes.

But we are making progress.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Ser, you're giving me flashbacks. I remember, and I have never gotten over the empty (or nearly so) playgrounds.

If you can find a playground near football field, so much the better. :) At least here, a playground next to evening football practice (yes, for grade school kids) is our most active playground.

It doesn't tend to make for good parent-friends, but at least it is active.

Beck said...

Moving is AWFUL. Awful, awful, awful. And also kind of weirdly fun.
I don't have the same issues, by the way, about superhero guys that i do about skanky girl dolls, because superhero guys are LIMITING, you know? But I just cannot bring myself to let my daughters have dolls that wear black mesh thongs. Ick!

Dove Knits said...

I was wondering how the move was going. Sounds like, honestly, it's going as well as it can! You'll get there eventually.

Anonymous said...

Things will get better. It will just take a little time. The last time we moved, I swore that I would never do it again. It is so very hard with kids. I wish I were there to help. Hang in there. Mom

Unknown said...

I never want to picture you the "lone mom sitting on top of the playground equipment..."
It makes me want to cry!
Next summer, I will be sitting right by you, and we will be laughing and drinking coffee and eating delicious pastries.

How does THAT sound?
Miss you!

Dove Knits said...

On a somewhat related note -- happy birthday, Luke!

Jenny said...

Dear Ser,

I'm so sorry I've been unreachable. I'm here in MN and can only check my email when I can sneak out to a cafe. I LOVE you though, and it was so good to be able to read your post, heartbreaking as it was. Truth be told, my move to Hyde Park was laced with the similar emotions, even though the playgrounds were hopping. It's just that moving is such an emotional experience--so frustrating and humbling and disorienting. I'm praying for you. Call my cell as soon as you're up and running with a phone!

Jen

Molly Sabourin said...

Ser,

It is good to hear from you! I was just remembering the other day how there was a period of time when either Elijah or Priscilla would wake up every night at 2 am for a bowl of cereal. Rather than suffer through the screaming, I would rise from bed pour some cheerios and sit across from my toddler who was busily munching away like it was the most normal thing in the world. You always remind me of why mothers are so special!

Love to you!

Molly

Julia said...

Hey, Ser. O.k., so I'm trying to post a comment again since the one I tried to post a few days ago got deleted. I totally sympathize with how discouraging this move is for you, since I've found the experience of moving with just one child has been so much harder than any of my (many) childless moves. Unpacking has never taken this long. I still have things stacked up in obscure corners, waiting to be organized, and it's been over a month. I have found, though, that even if I do one small organization project a day, it adds up eventually, you just don't get the satisfaction and encouragement that you get from a long stint of uninterrupted unpacking. I hope you can fight back the discouragement and interruptions and get settled in...I'm sure you will!

Anonymous said...

I love the Luke and Henry show!

And I have been here. You are great at nailing the universal experiences.

Thanks for the blog reassurance, by the way... I start to doubt myself if there is no feedback. :-)

Hope you're feeling more settled as each day passes.

Lhamo Osel said...

Oh my that was so sad. Until I got to the point about friendly employees. Then I laughed out loud. Did you hear that the HP Coop has shut! Long live the new Produce Market where they have polished the brick and have superbly lovely lighting.