Calling all galaxy girls (and boys)—you HAVE to see what Tracey just posted at Jinkies! Too incredibly cool!
You’ll excuse me for being scarce today—it’s almost time to start pushing. In the comments to my "moving is like childbirth" post, Jennifer remarked that she’d be happy to be my virtual doula, and I thought, WHAT A FABULOUS IDEA—seriously, there’s a business for a big-hearted entrepreneur. Doulas for people who are moving. Oh oh oh. I’d hire one in a snap. Someone to catch the little details that keep falling through the holes in my brain, someone to take my by the shoulders and say, You do NOT need flannel sheets in southern California!, someone to make sure I remember to eat, and also! The backrubs! Doulas give backrubs, right?
Now lest you get all sorry for me, I want to make it very clear that I have TONS of help here. TONS. You would not bee-leeeeve how amazing everyone, EVERYONE, has been. Meals arriving every other day from lovely neighbors, more (or sometimes the same) lovely neighbors spending hours helping me pack, lovely neighbors reading my blog and showing up with MORE Dr. Pepper!, lovely grandmothers (my children’s own, I mean) also reading the blog, and not to be outdone by a son/son-in-law, supplying chocolate and more chocolate, lovely friends sending amazing gifts in the mail (of the sort that you are VERY happy to have on a two-week-long cross-country odyssey), more lovely friends driving ALL THE WAY FROM NEW JERSEY to pick up a beloved loom that wants some babysitting while we’re on the west coast (and volunteering to run errands in town as long as they’re here), and dazzlingly lovely friends taking care of Wonderboy for hours upon end, and hauling countless boxes of Stuff to the Goodwill, and giving up a billion afternoons to help me weed through what’s in my basement so that I don’t wind up like this.
I have lots and lots of help; it’s incredible. I just thought a doula for moving sounded really cool. When we were in the hospital with Jane, I used to think a doula for mothers with very sick children would be a great thing to have too.
P.S. Lest anyone scold me for taking the time to read blogs on a DAY! LIKE! THIS!—this morning I only read three. Two of them, chosen from the yikes almost 250 feeds I sub to at Bloglines, I linked to above. The third was of course Alice’s, which made me sputter my tea, too too funny, and then when I clicked through to the earlier post she referenced, I got choked up all over again.
LOL- I see, I see. I guess I’m an illustration of the saying, “If you can’t be a good example you’ll just have to serve as a horrible warning!” LOL.
Seriously, good luck on the move! I counted up once and I think I have lived in at least fifteen places since we married in 1982- and that does not count the two months at a time in hotels here and there.
The longest I have ever lived in one house since I married is four years. And I still accumulated thousands of books. Imagine what it would have been like if I’d never moved.=O
Oh no, no, not YOU! Your uncle! LOL. Your uncle! Going through our many boxes of junk (which often have one treasure buried in the middle) I have resolved to stay on top of possessions henceforth and not leave a mess for my loved ones to have to deal with!
Now, about the books. I AM SO WITH YOU. We too have hundreds, maybe a thousand, I don’t know? And moving them cross country, yikes. I’ve been trying to sell them off/give them away, but I still have three full bookcases books I had decided to (sob) part with, and now have to decide again whether to keep or give to the library.
(Baby-nursing break, btw.)
augh. I STILL have an attic full of stuff. Not my (new) attic, sadly – it’s all at my father in law’s house. Now that we’ve moved and bought our own house, I keep thinking about all my lovely boooooooks.
and um… whatever else it is that it up there that I *needed* so badly that i stored it…
oh, i forgot to mention that my father in law lived 3000 miles away.
oh darn! LIVES LIVES not LIVED. He still LIVES there.
But he is coming to visit this week – yay!
Oh! My beloved loom is being babysat by dear friends as well. I just could not convince dh that it would look great on the foredeck…sob! The urge to play with yarn in the fall is nearly overpowering at times. Must go soak in sun on shipshape foredeck to console myself.
I wish you a good,pleasant trip…I cannot even imagine moving with 5 kids! (o.k., I have 4 so I can imagine it alittle..) We moved 3 years ago, 8 miles away and I vowed never to do it again.
side note, I live in Ca- and I do use flannel sheets. I love, love my flannel sheets. But, we only use them for a month, maybe two max. I grew up here, you’d probably think my idea of cold is wimpy!
blessings to you on your trip, I hope you manage to blog!
Jenny in Ca (southern)