Tag: Letting Go

Moving Day

It was moving day again at Windy Ridge.

Another chick has flown the coop!

Thankfully, she didn’t fly far!

Anna is renting a house about 25 minutes away, closer to church and friends, but a little farther from work. Far enough away to be independent, but close enough to see often.

She’s spent the last month finding furniture, figuring out utilities, and otherwise preparing to be on her own. And I searched my cupboards and went to garage sales to find the necessary kitchen items – important things like a cheese grater and pizza cutter and ice cream scoop.

This is our fourth child to move out – and the most complicated move. The other kids just packed up their cars or trucks and waved goodbye as they drove out the driveway.

But this move involved furniture – heavy furniture – that needed to be transported over 4 miles of very dry and dusty gravel roads.

This move needed dad.

And he orchestrated it all with finesse.

It took two cars, a pick-up and a borrowed enclosed trailer that we pulled down the gravel roads at about 20 mph so we we didn’t kick up dust -but we got it all delivered, unloaded and arranged.

Now our chick is setting up her own nest.

We are so excited for her!

 

 

 

Topsy Turvey

Jan and I were barely out of the driveway taking Matt to the airport when the kids started taking over Matt’s room.

And I do mean taking over.

It was time.

Matt lived totally out of his suitcase this trip – making it very obvious that he really didn’t need the space. While Angel Girl was having a hard time sharing a room with Dagmar because of her strange work hours.

(Going to work at midnight and coming home to sleep at 8 am makes it hard for Angel Girl to use their room during the day – not to mention the pager thing and the phone calls at all hours.)

Something had to change.

It was obvious I could no longer keep my shrine to Matt’s childhood. While he will always have a place to stay when he comes home (which I hope is frequently!) – he will no longer have a room to call his own.

<heavy sigh>

His siblings carefully and reverently (I hope) packed away the things he left at home and stored them in the attic.

Then things got a little crazy.

When the dust finally settled sometime Saturday night –

~  Dagmar got Matt’s room

~  Buddy got Matt’s dresser

~  Dagmar got Buddy’s dresser

~  Buddy got Matt’s bed

~  Pedro got Matt’s desk

~  Angel Girl got Pedro’s desk

~  We burned 5 bags of trash

~  We gathered three bags of clothes to donate

~  Millions of dust bunnies were exterminated

And everybody’s happy.

And tired.

And slept very well.

Change is emotionally and physically draining.

But you know – it’s also kind of freeing.