Sighs and Signs

I've hoped for a long time this nightmare would all be coming to an end soon. No real news yet, so sorry if I got you out of your chair jumping up and down and turning cartwheels or something. I've just always been such a believer in the phrase, "Things work out the way they are supposed to." I am hoping our living situation is part of that addage as well.

Although I miss Phoenix dreadfully, I knew travelling to South Carolina would be incredibly hard on her. At nearly fifteen years old and crammed in a car with two Chihuahuas, a teen, a tween and all our luggage and miscellaneous crap, the two day drive would have made her so uncomfortable. She has always been an integral part of our family and her loss is glaringly evident, but it just feels like she was never supposed to make the trip with us. She was so peaceful on her last day and I know that letting her go was the best thing for all of us.

I've had a few things on the "Things I Need to Do Before Leaving El Paso" list for a while. It seems that those things are starting to diminish. Before moving, I wanted to go to Glendale and visit my mother and on a last-minute whim over Spring Break, we picked up and went. It worked out, I didn't over-spend, the dogs did great, the truck did great and we all had a great time. I also wanted to get up to Albuquerque again as well. Nolan and I went up the last weekend of February for wrestling and got a quick visit in with both my nephew and his family and with my sister. When I said, "Quick," I meant it. Now it looks like we may have another chance to head up at the end of this month if Coach Avery decides to take the team to Albuquerque for another tourney. That would mean I could plan better for the weekend, both kids can go and with just the two little dogs, taking them with us or finding someone to keep them for us is much easier.

I've got four years of this house's crap accumulation and the ten years from before when we lived in quarters on Fort Bliss piled up around me. I've known I needed to weed through it and from time to time, I have. I've been doing a few drawers here and a shelving unit there, but this week I've been moved to get it done. This morning I did half the crap in our big dresser. I did our dressers a few weeks ago, but that was more of a rearrangment than a decrappification. Today, decrappification took over. I still need to work on the rest of the dresser, and I will, but I had to walk away for a while. After that, I started working on my closet, where darkness dwells. I don't know why the sudden urge to purge is striking me now, but I am glad it is. I do not want to take any more useless junk along for the ride again.

Our last wrestling tourney will either be this weekend or at the end of the month (remember?), so the season is winding down nicely and just in time for summer. School lets out the second week of June. Travis has been planning to make a trip out and timing with the unit has gotten in the way twice. He is now hoping to be able to make the trip in early June. He also mentioned taking the kids back with him. I nearly had a stroke when I thought about not having the kids with me, but I had to remind myself what the last fifteen months have been like for him. He has not had any family with him, aside from the eight days we visited last June, for the duration of this assignment. He is the one who always has to leave the kids. This may actually work out well. If the kids do go back with him and the house has not yet sold, Travis can enroll them in school there and they can start the year without being disrupted by moving. Also, he can request stabilization if Amanda is attending her Sophomore year of high school in the same city as his assignment. Requesting doesn't mean we will get it, but still, we can make a request. Plus, his apartment complex will allow dogs under 25 pounds, so if we want to stay for an extended visit, we can. Win/win.

Brian and I spoke a couple of days ago. He is holding another open house this weekend and maybe a third next weekend. The family that made the offer is still considering their options and we are still a prospect. He is stll in regular contact with their agent. I am confident he will have the house sold within our contract term. It expires in mid-July. I am not stressed the way I was with our previous agent. I stay pretty relaxed and feel like he is doing everything he needs to do to unload this house for us.

I go on CraigsList regularly to look at rentals in South Carolina. After Travis being there for so long, he has a great idea of where he wants us to live based on the schools and safety and various other things. We know we will be renting until he retires because I am not willing to go through anything like this ever again. So, rentals... I want a four bedroom with more than 1800 square feet. I know what we can afford and I have very strict criteria regarding the style of home I want. I need a house big enough so that if and when my mother is ready to move in with us, she wont feel cramped or like she is putting us out. I found that house months ago on Craigs, but we were not ready to go and I sat, looking at the listing for about five weeks. It was the perfect house. Two days ago, I saw the listing posted again. It will be available in June. It is a four bedroom with a FROG (Furnished Room Over Garage- essentially a fifth bedroom), 2500+ square feet, two-car garage, fenced back yard, 2.5 bath, laundry room and EVERYTHING ELSE! And, once we sell this house, we can easily afford it. I am trying not to get excited. The picture of the house is the house I found. It is awesome!

So, falling into place, or luck or God or whatever the source of all this is, it is starting to happen. I am at ease and I believe we are on our way to being on our way.