Yeah, we are in one of those phases. And as far as those phases go, it's not too bad, really. We have all of our limbs, and we have our brains, although sometimes I feel like we've kind of let the gray matter go a bit slack. Not the kids - they are brilliant - but as parents we have kind of dropped the ball.
I say this because we are moving. Again. To Wisconsin. Again. Now, in most places in the world, families often live together, eat together, use the village to raise the kids, blah blah blah. I can't help it that I'm an American and an independent one at that. I have to yank my foot way out of my mouth and hanker back to the place that, as a teen, I couldn't wait to get away from. AGAIN.
Now, there is no doubt that it's the right move for us. We can't stay way out here in the middle of nowhere, Washington, overpaying on rent and living without friends or family close by. There are no jobs here for us. Our lease is up, as the owners want to sell the house, so on top of it all I am supposed to keep the house show ready (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I wanted to shout, along with KICK ME WHILE I'M DOWN WHY DON'T YOU! and THANKS, I WASN'T FEELING STRESSED ENOUGH WITH THE MOVE ALREADY BUT THIS SHOULD DO THE TRICK! to the owner when he called to give me the 'good news' that the house was officially listed.) The kids miss their grandparents and are extremely excited to see them on a daily basis again. My parents and sisters and nieces are pretty cool. I wouldn't mind seeing them more often. And now there's a new little one, and we could really use that village.
No one is sad to say sayonara to Colton, Washington, although Ani and Reni have made some good buddies that they are going to miss. If there's a lesson learned here, it's that you should always listen to your gut, because our gut told us not to take the job and not to move out here, until stupid things like reason and economics and pride got in the way and we decided to give it a go anyway. So, kids, if you're reading this a generation from now, tell my grandkids to listen to their gut feelings and follow them if they want to make less mistakes and put themselves and their own kids through less stress and hassle than we are currently doing to you.
Although, I must say, you guys are real troopers about everything. You're dancing around all the stacked furniture and building with boxes and packing tape. You watched our couches and Anika's beloved dollhouse bunked carried off to be enjoyed by a new family without so much as a sniffle. You play the "keep at Grandma and Grandpas, keep at storage, or give to Goodwill?" game like pros. You couldn't be more excited to go back to your cousins and aunts and grandparents, and nearly every conversation is peppered with "remember when…" snippets from last summer. You ask ALL THE TIME (here's looking at you, Reni!) if it's the end of March yet and if it's time for us to go on the airplane yet. And you are both so proud to be older and to show everyone back in the midwest what you can do now that you're older. Things like riding bikes and reading (Anika) and peeing about 1/10th of your pee into the toilet (Reni). It's ok, buddy, the walls need washing periodically, too. Thanks for the reminder.
Also, to those future readers of my blog, I wouldn't recommend having a baby and moving while that baby is two months old. This is the SECOND time I am doing that exact thing that I'm telling you not to do, so I should know. The amount of stuff you accumulate for one teeny little person (or one giant little man, in the case of Mr. 98th-percentile Roman) is mind-blowing. Trying to fit everything a family of five needs into one mini van and a few suitcases - the rest will be in storage, AGAIN - is kind of a stressful task. Keeping everyone clothed, fed, entertained and on some semblance of a schedule while trying to pack and move and coordinate all the bits and blobs and things that come up during a cross-country move is quite stressful.
Most days, I just feel like Gerald from the Mo Willems Elephant and Piggie books. I literally feel myself making the exact same expressions as this guy:
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