The view from outside church Sunday
Tonight is our last night living in Baltimore, at least for now. For the next two nights, we'll have sleepovers at my parents' house that the girls are really looking forward to. But tonight is our last night as residents.
Johnny, Jeff and Nate, the movers, arrived at 8:30 on the nose this morning. We had spent the last couple weeks organizing everything. Every puzzle had a baggie affixed to it containing every piece. My friend Connie came over for the sole purpose of helping me organize the pantry. It was serious.
Johnny, Jeff and Nate, the movers, arrived at 8:30 on the nose this morning. We had spent the last couple weeks organizing everything. Every puzzle had a baggie affixed to it containing every piece. My friend Connie came over for the sole purpose of helping me organize the pantry. It was serious.
The pantry, post Connie
Our goals were twofold: 1. To be as organized as possible, to minimize the pain of unpacking, and 2. To be the movers' favorite. I can't really articulate the why behind number 2, except that I wanted to them to feel we had looked out for them. And also, I am very competitive. So when Johnny, the foreman, told Daniel we were his easiest customers yet, I was stoked. We won!
The organizing was the easy part, though. The good-byes have been much harder. Over the last few weeks, we have been ticking off items on our Baltimore Bucket List-- places to visit, people to see. Daniel took Mirabella on a date to an Orioles game (we are going to miss being so close to a major league team! And right when our O's are doing so well!), we had a small group over for a cookout, I had lunch with a couple friends, dinner with another group, a night out with my sister-in-law during Sailabration, a final downtown date with Daniel, and a last Baltimore visit from my Connecticut in-laws (which featured a rainy O's game for the over-two crowd, and a trip to the Rawlings Conservatory and the Nature Center for our very excited little girls and their sweet grandparents). The girls and I went to our last small group, and Sunday was our last at our church.
The organizing was the easy part, though. The good-byes have been much harder. Over the last few weeks, we have been ticking off items on our Baltimore Bucket List-- places to visit, people to see. Daniel took Mirabella on a date to an Orioles game (we are going to miss being so close to a major league team! And right when our O's are doing so well!), we had a small group over for a cookout, I had lunch with a couple friends, dinner with another group, a night out with my sister-in-law during Sailabration, a final downtown date with Daniel, and a last Baltimore visit from my Connecticut in-laws (which featured a rainy O's game for the over-two crowd, and a trip to the Rawlings Conservatory and the Nature Center for our very excited little girls and their sweet grandparents). The girls and I went to our last small group, and Sunday was our last at our church.
Emerie with my sister, Sarah
Saturday my parents threw a family party for us and rented an 18-foot waterslide. I can't decide who had more fun, Daniel or Mirabella! I had to force Mirabella to change out of her bathing suit because her lips were blue and we had to force Daniel to stop sliding because the guys from the rental company had come to dissassemble and collect it. All of these events, in and of themselves, have been wonderful. We have loved spending time with our family and friends and are so grateful for them. But, inevitably, the events all end. And it's awkward. And sad. And heavy. And I'm starting to get a little tired of those feelings.
Tonight, after a busy day of directing other people in the packing, lifting and loading of our belongings (for Daniel) and of running the children to our dear friends' house so they could have a fun day instead of being underfoot, spending too much money at Target, and buying a bunch of food for our wonderful movers (for me), we had to go out for dinner. Nearly our entire kitchen had been packed, along with most of the rest of our house. I wanted us to go out in our old neighborhood once more. Daniel was too tired and the girls were hitting their limit. We stayed local and decided to try to use up our fruit and empty our freezer by making chocolate banana peanut butter milkshakes at home (they hadn't packed our blender yet!).
We sat on the porch while the girls oohed and ahhed over fireflies and asked if we would have them at our new house in Tennessee. Daniel taught them how to catch the bugs and they ran around in the yard, barefoot, chasing them. I sat on the porch and took bad iPhone photos and sighed. We came inside, where the girls marveled over their empty room and being allowed to jump on their beds, which are, for tonight, just mattresses on the floor. It was a good last night.
We sat on the porch while the girls oohed and ahhed over fireflies and asked if we would have them at our new house in Tennessee. Daniel taught them how to catch the bugs and they ran around in the yard, barefoot, chasing them. I sat on the porch and took bad iPhone photos and sighed. We came inside, where the girls marveled over their empty room and being allowed to jump on their beds, which are, for tonight, just mattresses on the floor. It was a good last night.
Catching fireflies
Lately I am overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. I am excited for a fresh start, humbled and grateful for the opportunity to be home with my babies while-- maybe-- working at something I actually love, anxious about so much that is unknown, and profoundly sad to be leaving my home and some of my most-loved ones. I am all of those things at once, and I am not looking forward to parts of the next couple days. I am preparing myself for tears. But tonight, watching our little girls' wonder while they played, I was at peace.
RSS Feed
