We packed up the house. It was kind of sad, but not as sad as I was afraid it would be. I'll really miss my fabulous kitchen...it was especially special because Paul built it for me. But, I won't really miss the house, and definitely won't miss the neighborhood and all the barking dogs, trash and loud music. It's a little sad that our first child was born there and will likely never see where he was born, but...
Paul came to Negaunee on 2/26 with his dad Clyde, his brother Andrew, and Andrew's wife Sarah. Paul drove the big moving truck, and Clyde drove our pickup with a load. Andrew and Sarah drove their pickup with a trailer attached. Whew, we had a lot of stuff, even after mega-purge.
Before:
After:
They made it to Negaunee from Brighton in about 10 hours, which was really good for all those heavy trucks in bad weather. Henry and I settled in to spend the week at Paul's parents, which went well. It felt like a nice, albeit bittersweet, way to say goodbye. We had fun hanging out with cousin Layne, and playing a lot. I hated living out of a suitcase, but it was fine.
Paul started work on March 1, and I worked two days that week to finish up. I also was given a really nice going-away party by my birth center friends. I'm really going to miss them! It was sad to have my last day at the birth center; as aggravating as that place could be, it's been a big part of my life for the last 8 years.
On March 5th, Henry, my mom, sister Holly, her son Theo and I all came up to Negaunee together. It was a pretty painless trip, as it was, and the babies rode pretty well. Henry livened things up with a major blowout poop...thank goodness for heated rest areas because he had to be stripped naked and washed from chest to knees. Ugh. I wished I hadn't buried my camera in my suitcase!
Sadly, we got a phone call en route that my Grandma's brother Jim had been taken to the hospital in Marquette after being found down at home. He'd had an aortic dissection, and was on life support. Grandma didn't seem to have much reaction when Mom talked to her, but that's kind of how she is these days. I let Paul know, just in case Grandma wanted to go to the hospital. We weren't sure what to expect when we arrived, but I was really glad that Paul was going to be home from work.
We got in around 5:30, and Henry was soooo happy to see his papa (another moment of wishing for the damn camera). Grandma had gotten some supper together, and we all ate and talked. She seemed pretty unreactive to her brother's terminal diagnosis, and hadn't gotten much info from his wife. It was hard to tell how to act, so we just started settling a few of our things in our room. Saturday, Uncle Tim came in the morning to check in. We visited for a while, had some coffee, then Aunt Cindy and Uncle John brought over some awesome cinnamon rolls; more coffee, more visit.
Paul and I settled more stuff, and organized our stuff in the basement while my Mom looked after Henry for us. Grandma really didn't want us to move anything of hers around, so we were getting creative. We put some slider locks on the cabinets with fragile or dangerous stuff, and tried to surreptitiously move a few breakables. It seemed like the day flew by...then we headed over to my Dad and Sandi's for pizza and a beer.
Grandma's house, 934 Oak Street
Sunday was hard; I felt very emotional about Mom, Holly and Theo leaving. I also felt a sense of "what have we gotten ourselves into?" with our current living situation. They left after breakfast and I had a big cry. Paul was with Henry while I was washing my face and getting myself together. When he came upstairs with a look on his face, I knew something bad had happened. Henry had broken my Grandma's mother's vase which she had in the living room. Sigh. I had another cry, and apologized profusely to Grandma. She seemed really uncomfortable and didn't make much eye contact. Paul took the vase down to the basement for a repair attempt, although she told him to throw it away. Whew. After lunch, we took Henry over to Dad and Sandi's again, so I could use the computer and pay some bills. I think we all needed some respite and some breathing space. It was nice to just zone out a bit.
Meanwhile, the weather was GORGEOUS. 50's, sunny and spring-y. We soaked up some sun and headed back to Grandma's.
Monday, Paul headed to work
and Henry and I got ready to spend our first day here with Grandma alone. It went okay. Henry and I took a long walk with Blaze and checked out our new neighborhood. Henry is working on a molar or two, so has been extra crabby, but we're working it out.
Day Two: Grandma kicks it off by asking when we'll be leaving, and saying that she doesn't like all of our things around and the barriers on the cabinets. Gulp. Panic. Phone calls. Aunt Cindy came over in the afternoon and we all talked about the situation. Basically, it seems that Grandma doesn't really have a grasp on what it's like to live with a 1 year old, and Paul and I are feeling like we need to tiptoe around. I really want to remain respectful of Grandma, but it's hard to live like we're not here. I'm trying, and we're cleaning up obsessively, putting things where they belong, and keeping to ourselves as much as possible. However, it's starting to seem that perhaps Grandma doesn't like us too much!
We're going to start house-hunting this weekend with looking at a for-sale-by-owner home near here. We have an appointment with a realtor on Monday to see a bunch of other local homes. I am hoping that financing isn't an issue, but if it is, or we can't find a proper home, then we'll have to consider renting a place for a while. We can't stay here with the situation as it is. I knew this would be bumpy for everyone, but I had really hoped that the mutual beneficence involved would carry us through, and hoped we'd be good company for Grandma. In my wildest fantasy, we were here for 6 months or so while we took our time finding a house while paying off credit card and auto loan debt to free up cash. It is not to be!
I'm a little scared of readjusting our budget, and how this is all going to work out, but we'll be okay. Our family is supportive and I know that we'll make this work. I may end up working again, sooner than I thought, but that's still up in the air at this point. It would have to be night shift on the weekend, so Paul could be with Henry, and neither of us want that if we can help it.
To be continued...
We're going to an NMU hockey game tomorrow night; it will feel really good to be out and together. We'll see Dad and Sandi on Saturday, then looking at that house on Sunday. Looking forward to the weekend, and glad we survived week one!
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