I think I need to begin this at the beginning...
Monday was emotional. I finished packing early and sat around most of the day waiting to leave. It felt weird. I watched Grey's Anatomy and ate apple slices and drank an inordinate amount of water. Pretty awesome. We are lucky to have a relocation allowance, meaning we had to pack very little and wait for the whirlwind of Allied to pack and load our belongings.
We also don't have a large amount of personal items. We own a home in Charleston, SC that is currently unlivable due to mold damage. All of our original furniture, appliances, linens, towels, and some odds and ends are staying behind in this house. We will still pay for this house and cannot buy until further notice. It is a bad circumstance that I refused to cry over until Monday. Those were my anger tears. I feel so betrayed and so angry that our house has been reduced to a large fungal colony (just wish I was able to finalize something, but someday I will get my chance to be a catty female and prove myself the victor)
The sad tears came with two things. First we gave away Moxie. It was done with a heavy heart and much regret on my part. Moxie is a bad kitty. A very, very, bad bad bad kitty. She will zero the zinnias in two seconds flat, she will eat old Uncle Irving if you give her half a chance. Truly all joking aside, she was unhappy and we hated to see her so aggressive and scared. She wouldn't even cuddle in my lap anymore. She just growled, hissed, and clawed. Nothing was physically wrong with her, but I think in the shuffle of the Brody Avenue fall-out she was unable to transition.
Conor's school brought on the second wave of tears, and it was that embarrassing barrage of snot and slobber that only true sadness comes with. I am so thankful for his school. Conor is the most special 3 footer I know. He has the ability of empathy and makes people so much happier with his stink and stubborness. He is amazing and his school is amazing. They threw him a party (in which most of his classmates were adorably confused by. Cupcake are for birthdays only, a fact this mommy should have known). It was a train themed day full of Conor's favorite activities (playing chase, trains, coloring, dinosaurs, dirt, cupcakes, and jumping). I hope his next school is as special.
That night Stephen and I ate Park Pizza and finished up random odds and ends. The emotions of the day got to me and I feel asleep in my bed with shoes and bandana still on. Once again, I'm pretty awesome.
Tuesday was the day I left to my parents, and the movers came to pack our house. 3 people took less than 4 hours to pack our house. Less than 4 hours. They are a machine. 1500 square feet of stuff. Insane. I wish I had that talent.
Conor and I headed out to breakfast with Crystal, Amanda, and Carmen. It was almost impossible to say good-bye. These three ladies are amazing and have hearts of gold. They each touched my life and Conor's in such a magnetic and empathetic manner, it is hard to put into words the pain I felt driving down 17.
It also something that shouldn't be put into words, especially the relationship between Conor and Carmen. It is something so special, my words would not only fail to describe their bond, it would somehow belittle the magic. As I said before, Conor has an amazing sense of empathy. I do wonder if being carried by a nurse has anything to do with this. He has my ability to care and calm, to soothe and heal. It makes him Conor, and makes Carmen an equal. See, my words somehow make it tangible, and I want it to remain intangible.
I had to pull over twice as tears overwhelmed my ability to manage South Carolina drivers. But, I made it to Beany Joe's, a place filled with cookies, ice cream, endless pots of coffee and love. It is going to be hard to say good-bye again, so the next 3 days are going to be a blast. We started off right too, a pool date. I think the kid drank half the water, he is such a water bug. In drinking half the pool, holy cow that kid has a bladder!
Day one at Beany and Joe's also had a power outage, but that brought on the fun of a flashlight. He fell asleep in my arms with a flashlight on. Adorable. Something about that sweet toddler belly, the warm curls, and a perfect snore to settle a sad lady.
