I feel like I have been away too long to really catch up. It is overwhelming. For the sake of my own sanity (and probably not for the pleasure of your reading), I am going to try to be quick about this.
#1 Leased the house. Posted on craigslist.org and facebook.com and within hours I was overwhelmed with calls. Apparently, there are a lot of folks who'd rather rent than buy these days. I only had to show the house 3 times. The third time was the charm and I hope it continues to be. Rentals are a bit scary, since if they don't pay we don't pay and if we don't pay we go into foreclosure on a house in Alabama from Alaska. See what I mean? Just a little scary. But, I have high hopes for the new tenants. They seem like really good people who are anxious to actually own the home themselves. Did I mention it is a lease to own? It is a lease to own. They are responsible for all the maintenance.
#2 Sold more of our things. There were days of preparation and child neglect preceding the sale. A good side to said child neglect (did you know there could be one?), is that Piccolo is getting a big dose of "You're On Your Own Kid" lessons. Hey, my husband's in Alaska. Give me a break...please.
Mom helped at the all day, indoor, moving sale on Saturday. My Dad kept Piccolo the day of the sale...the ENTIRE day. That was a first for both of them. We sold A LOT. I was very grateful. Also, I am grateful that the new tenants are totally ok with me keeping some not sold things in the garage. Next week, my sister-in-law is going to take a lot of what is left back with her to Georgia to use in her own home. It is a win-win situation. She gets some new-to-her-things to use as she wishes, and I have no more storage problems.
#3 Went into 3 trucking businesses to discuss shipping what is left to our new Alaska home (where ever that is). I had planned to just ship the rest via USPS but the box pile has grown into a pile that I can barely handle, therefore I feel like the shipping costs will also grow to a point we cannot handle. SO, I thought I would just put my lipstick on, walk in there, find out which truckers would be heading to Alaska, and discuss cramming my boxes in whatever available space they had in their truck for a small fee. Yeah, that didn't didn't go so well. First of all, walking into a trucking company for the first time is intimidating as heck. Secondly, there were very few truckers wondering in and out heading to Alaska (ok, there were none). And third, behind each desk was a no no nonsense kind of women, who looked at me as if I was the epitome of idiocy.
At the third trucking company, I was able to get an estimate for 500 lbs. worth of stuff. Did I mention I have no idea how much my boxes weigh? I have no idea. None. It is going to take a whole lot of heavy lifting and hauling to figure that out. I don't even want to think about it.
Also....
I've been grieving the loss of my beloved Jimmi Lee all over again. I don't even feel like going into to it too deep, but to summarize without dwelling....He was with me for 13 years. He was my much loved Maltese son. I often referred to him as my first born. He died....I don't know...about 6-7 months ago. I try not to keep up with the date. The reason my heart feels heavy all over again is because he's buried in the yard of the house we just leased. The house I no longer have real access to. I didn't spend much time sitting graveside dwelling on the loss but there is something really hard about not being able to walk out there when I want to. I feel like I am abandoning him. I know its not logical but it is real.
I have been struggling with whether or not to take his headstone with me ever since we decided to go. I finally decided it should come with us to Alaska. No one will appreciate it here and I wouldn't like it at all if it were damaged or moved by someone. So, it is coming with me. I replaced the square grave marker with rocks so that the oval would be complete. I talked to him and patted the dirt where he lay before walking away, one last time. It was hard. I believe dogs go to heaven. Please don't try to convince me otherwise.
Congrats on leasing the house! What a big relief and burden off of your shoulders! Sounds like the sale was a huge success to.. so that is more great news!
ReplyDeleteI got teary-eyed reading about your dog and leaving the house where he is buried. We had a cocker spaniel growing up that we had for foreverrrrr and we too, moved from the home where she was buried..and it was difficult. It was like leaving a member of the family behind. Glad you are taking his marker with you. Maybe you will feel better having that reminder with you wherever you go ;)
I am sad to think about Jimmi, too. I think it was a good decision to take the headstone. No matter where he is now, he's no longer on this earth, and God has given you the gift of keeping his memory in your heart. I like to think he's up there being one of Jesus' dogs. So don't worry; you're not abandoning him. That's not how it works. You have given him back to God now, so you can be at peace about that.
ReplyDeleteGlad you decided to take the headstone - I don't think you will regret it, but you may have if you did not take it. Yep, gonna get some 'new' stuff:-) if Guy doesn't have a cow about it! I think he is ok, but we had a bit of a hard time after the last truck load.
ReplyDeleteMoving away can bring up all sorts of mixed emotions, even if you know it's the right thing to do. I remember when I moved into a new house, I was bawling my eyes out, because the cematary that my mom was buried in was 10 minutes from the house we'd moved away from. I felt like I was leaving Mom.
ReplyDeleteJust know that you aren't leaving your sweet furry baby. He'll always be with you.