A moving house

Sometimes I think of things that I would post on Facebook if I was one of those people who shared every other thought on Facebook.  Tonight my status would have been:

Dear Stress:

Today, you won.  You 200% won.  Let's not repeat that tomorrow, or any other day in the foreseeable future.

Not so affectionally,

Me

I'll spare you the details of what put me in that frame of mind.  Suffice it to say that I think I've been keeping it all together pretty well but today was my low point.  And Baby P, who has never heard me sob before, took my sobs for laughter and laughed at my crying.  He's two.  I don't hold it against him.  But still, like I said - low point.  Hopefully it's all up from here, right?

So let's talk about the house, what I have been thinking of as "the moving house".  We're almost done with our house.  The first house we ever owned.  The house we brought our babies home from the hospital to.  Due to the strange timing of how our moved worked out, we've been in "moving" mode for quite awhile.  Which means the boys have been having quite a bit of fun with the cardboard chaos that surrounds them.

In the massive upheaval of a moving house, anything and everything can wind up in the pack 'n play.

And why is the pack 'n play out in a moving house?  Because little (and big) boys had fun playing with tools to disassemble the regular crib (the one that actually still contains the not-so-much-a-baby-anymore Baby P!)

A moving house is also full of boxes, like boxes that aren't taped into boxes yet.

"It's a slide!  Whee!!"

A moving house has boxes that are waiting to be packed.

In his mind, all those boxes were set up as "church" - there was an organ, organ speakers, the pulpit, etc.  Isn't a child's imagination wonderful?

A moving house has boxes that are found to be unsuitable for packing (but perfect for playing!)

Guess who else wants in the box with the hole in the side?!

Perhaps, in the end, our moving house has too many boxes?

But now the boxes are all packed, and mostly already in our new state, and mostly all that's left to do is say goodbye.  I've moved enough in my life to know that there is a huge feeling of relief that washes over me once all the goodbyes are done.  So the next few days, our last in this lovely little town, will be filled with an impatience to get it all done, checked by my knowledge that it's also important to say goodbye, for me and the boys.  So ready or not, here we go!

Enveloped in love

When pulling a family together from all corners of the country to celebrate a 60th wedding anniversary, it's understandable that love would be part of the weekend.  But my family's version of love is truly something special.  It is whirlwind powerful, built on a deep knowledge of one another and respect (mostly) for the differences that exist among us, it is generous, it is hard work and it is cherished.  In one way or another, it defines all of us, for which I am incredibly grateful.  This love manifests itself in many ways, only a few of which I have pictures for...

There's the original love, like between mother and daughter.

The love of good food.

And drinks.  Lots of drinks.

There's Baby P's unprecedented, obsessive love for my grandmother's dog (who, make no mistake, is part of the family).

And finally, the love between generations.

My grandfather thinks a lot these days about the wisdom he wants to leave behind for all of us.  What I hope he realizes is that he's already given us the greatest gift of all - each other.