we made it

Let me begin by saying that it has been an extremely long week and I want to apologize for not completing the final post letting my dear readers know that my brother, the dogs, Sheldon the road trip god and myself made it safely (and only slightly worse for wear) to our destination.

Speaking of Sheldon, I know that my photo of him didn't come through when I posted it initially so I am going to attempt to post it again since tonight I am writing on my computer and not on my phone. This is Sheldon who was our road trip god and mascot for the trek cross country this past week:

I would say that Sheldon did a good job at fulfilling his duty as both mascot of this trip as well as road trip god.  We made it cross country mostly unscathed; the truck remained packed how I had it (only minor shifting), my car made it intact and the dogs, my brother and I, although extremely tired, we made it back.

More later.  Falling asleep...

moving cont.

Day 2:

• Very long day in the car.
• Dog not feeling well.
• Navigator (me) screwed up....
• Going to bed in the hopes sleep doesn't evade me again.   :(

moving adventures...

So it's been an extremely LONG day but here are some of the highlights:

• My brother's flight was delayed so I picked him up at midnight; had to drive two hours back to my place to pick up the truck and hit the road.
• We went to find a parking lot with lights to load the car on the auto transport and because it was cold the truck had more exhaust - my brother got pulled over by a cop but he was just making sure everything was okay.
• We got the trailer loaded and hit the road officially around 2 am.
• Made it from Monterey, CA to Flagstaff, AZ today and have stopped for sleep - we are both hoping to get some good sleep after going for the last several days on very little sleep....
• Hitting the road early in the AM - wish us luck.....

This is Sheldon the Sea Otter, road trip god and (hopefully) guardian of our travel....  he has his work cut out for him....

and so it begins.....

This post will be VERY short tonight as the adventures of moving hits the road tomorrow...  There have been several snafus already: POD couldn't be delivered; now using UHAUL and an auto transport to haul my car; got the auto transport stuck in the driveway yesterday - took 6 people to come up with a game plan on how to move it and put us behind 2 hours of loading the truck; did more loading today myself; hit the road tomorrow night when my brother flies in.....

Long story short - it may take a miracle to survive this move.....  I will be posting about our (mine, my brother's and the two little dogs) adventures along this journey throughout the week so be sure to check back.  Prayers would be greatly appreciated......  I'm off to pack some more boxes and attempt to get some sleep tonight -- wish me luck....

Question posed...

I was texting my parents this past week and they told me about a question that should become one of my new mantras along my quest - "what would you do if you weren't afraid?"  I really wish I knew how I would answer that question because, at the moment, I don't have an answer and I don't like that I don't have an answer...

I know that it takes a lot of courage and bravery to answer a question like that and I'm trying to determine whether or not I have that amount of courage and bravery.  Yes, I have overcome some pretty obstacles and maybe one of the reasons I'm questioning my level of courage/bravery currently is because so much of it is already devoted to this leap of faith/moving adventure that is looming in front of me.  Later this week, my POD moving/storage unit will be delivered for me to fill and I'm not done packing yet.  I'm trying very hard not to beat myself up too much over this fact but that is definitely easier said than done for me.

All of this is not helped with the fact that my past crashed in on me this past week.  This past week would have marked my 13th wedding anniversary and emotions hit me pretty hard this year.  I know a lot of that has to do with all of the other changes that are happening currently in my life but that didn't help calm down the all of the things I was feeling.  At this point, I can look back with fondness of the memories from that day but it didn't make it any easier when the emotions came crashing down on me.  I am a much different person that who I was 13 years ago when we got married; I am a much different person than who I was 8 years ago when he walked away; I know I can do this (somehow) but I am still extremely scared...

I'm sure some of why the emotions broke through this past week is I'm starting to say my "good-byes" and those have never been an easy thing for me.  When I was little and we were visiting with family when it came time to say "good-bye," I could often be found hiding in the car because I didn't want to have to say good-bye.  Things have gotten a little better as I've gotten older in the sense that I don't hide in the car anymore but the time to say "good-bye" is still not an easy one for me.  Lots of families are saying their good-byes as they move away and I am having to say my good-byes after having been here for almost nine years.

I did do something responsible this past week and I had my car checked out before making the big move.  I found a place that was local that could check it out, I called, made an appointment and took it in before work this past week.  Not only did it pass every test with flying colors, they did the inspection complementary - they had told me that I would only get charged if they found something wrong so I thought they were going to find something so I would have to pay - so I was excited that they didn't find any problems.

Well, my dear readers, I should probably bring this to a close, ponder my original question of "what would you do if you weren't afraid?" as I pack a couple of boxes before I head to bed.  Wish me luck that all of my packing comes together in the week ahead so I can prepare for my upcoming adventure...  Thank you for joining me!  =)

Kindness

This past week, I told the parents/kids that I'll be leaving and I broke quite a few hearts in the process.  Granted, a few of the kids cheered when I made my announcement but knowing them, I didn't necessarily expect anything different from those particular kids.  I was surprised by the reaction of some of the parents in the program and some of them have tried to demand/beg that I stay.  It's nice that they've had that reaction and it's been difficult to tell them that I am leaving regardless.  Even though I am still no where near having everything packed, I am starting to get excited about this change - which is unusual for me since I don't necessarily handle change well and I never have.

I am sure there are still going to be difficult times to come and saying "good-bye" is going to be emotional since I have very strong connections to some of the families as well as some co-workers but I know this move is going to be good for me in the long run.

Throughout this process, I have been struck by the kindness of people I know.  I have had several people offer to help me (and I still might have to take them up on that offer), one of my siblings has offered to fly here to help me drive my car cross country, and my parents are helping by paying the money up front for my POD and I'll pay them back.  I know we all have our own lives and our own schedules but it definitely nice to see that people are still willing to go out of their way to assist someone else - that doesn't always happen so it's nice when it happens.

Well my dear readers, I know this is the absolute shortest post I have written in quite some time however I should probably put this away for tonight.  I got a late start writing after trying to get some packing done today (again, didn't get near as much as I wanted done today and I am running out of time) and I should probably try and get some sleep tonight since I have a phone interview tomorrow.  Wish me luck and thank you for joining me along this quest!  =)

P.S.  One final thought for this evening - do something kind for someone; you never know how it's going to impact them (and you).