End of an Era

There is some news that has been keeping us busy these last few weeks....and I have sat down several times now trying to write this post.  I envisioned writing something touching and poignant to express my feelings, but can't seem to find the right words. So here it is in all it's glory, no fanfare, just the facts: Daddy O accepted a position down south and we will be moving at the end of the summer to a new zip code in warmer weather and closer to both sides of our family.  Of course just about any state other than Alaska and Hawaii would bring us closer to family, but this is great.  We will be within 1 day of driving or less from grandparents, parents, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles etc...  This is much better than the current minimum of a 5-7 day trek clear across the country.

We have discussed moving to this region for a few years now, waiting for the right time and the right opportunity to come along.  Our discussions always included what kind of property we would want, what type house we would buy now (as opposed to us BC-Before Children) and left us yearning for warmer, sunnier weather. The pull of family and the sun has become stronger over the last couple of years and I am excited to make the move. My parents probably are chuckling to themselves, as I clearly remember stating to anyone who would listen as I was off to New York for college, I'll never come back down here, never! 

Beyond the excitement, making a move is different now as opposed to when I was growing up.  The main difference?  My parents aren't doing all the legwork now.  Now I'm the parent.  Now I have to be a part of the hard decisions being made, the stress of not only coordinating a move, but selling our house (oh gads, what if we don't? The market is terrible....), selecting a new place to live among other things such as schools, racial diversity, activities...We are trying to concentrate on one thing at a time but it has been hard to keep our minds from racing about all the details when sit down to take a break.

I think we have done pretty well, in two weeks we have:  interviewed several real estate agents and will put our house on the market as soon as all the paperwork comes in for our move.  Both Daddy O and I are ardent fans of HGTV and have been intent on taking the advice we have listened to over the years.  We rented a storage unit for all the junk and furniture we don't need, cleared out closets (to make it look like we have some storage), decluttered, cleaned the carpets, repainted where necessary, re stained the deck, put fresh mulch in the garden beds, power washed the house, porch and driveway, washed all the windows, put higher wattage bulbs in all the fixtures to make the house appear brighter and have cleaned like you wouldn't believe.  We are tired.

And I sold my car.  My very first car.  Sigh.  I actually shed a tear over a 1998 Dodge Neon.  Silver.  The sport model....ahhh the memories...  When my father bought her for me almost 13 years ago, I don't think anyone ever imagined I would still be driving her to this day.  She still ran, albeit the automatic door locks might not work from one day to the next, the CD player doesn't work when it's cold, the air conditioning is shot, the breaks squeal and she looks pretty banged up from when I ran the hood up under someones truck bed a few years ago.  People in the neighborhood used to laugh at me hanging on to her, but they will be glad to know that the spirit of the Neon will live on in the neighborhood long after our departure.  We sold her to one of neighbors, whose daughter just turned sixteen.  She looked happy as she backed out of the driveway with her newly purchased worn wheels and I hope the Neon is as good to her as it was to me (at least until we are 10 states away).  It truly is the end of an era.

The boys seem to be dealing pretty well with the news.  Baby O of course is oblivious to pretty much everything except what is right in front of him.  Boy O took it pretty well and each passing day brings a new and interesting question.  The first question was out of concern for his toys and then the whether or not we could bring the bathroom with us.  The next day he asked about his friends....they get more thoughtful as time goes by but we have not observed any major anxiousness or worries.  I did try to check out a book about moving at the library-I was in the parenting section, perusing titles such as What's wrong with Timmy?, and Why don't Mommy and Daddy Talk Anymore?  and I picked out a book that looked like a moving book to me-it was entitled Never Say Goodbye which as I discovered upon reading it the next day to Boy O, it is about dying, not moving.  Not really the subject I was looking to talk about, but I guess it doesn't hurt. Another lesson learned for Mommy O:  never judge a book by its cover.

At times it does not seem real and almost as if we are moving in a haze as we try to fit it all in between soccer games and life in the present.  But there is still that excitement, the unknown, a fresh start, the conversations of won't it be nice when.....and it will, I know it will.