Taking it All Apart

I haven't posted in a few weeks not because I haven't really wanted to, but because I have been so incredibly busy making this move happen. It really has been just too crazy for words, but here's a little breakdown. We got the house on market a few weeks ago.

Here it is: http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cfm?mlnum=2828174&backButton=Y

We've had a handfull of showings but no offers yet. We're definitely realizing it's not the best time to be selling a house, but it's just the way it goes.

One week ago today the movers showed up and packed our entire house into 125 boxes, excluding the larger pieces that didn't fit into boxes. Last Friday a second crew showed up and loaded all our stuff onto an 18-wheeler and away it all went! The main guy that loaded the truck will actually be taking it all the way to Newfoundland. So, it's not going by sea, but that's awesome because that means that our stuff will be there much sooner than we originally thought.

After our whole life was sent away on an 18-wheeler, we moved into a quaint little hotel called the Sugar Land Marriott at Town Square (roll fancy rich-folk type music) which was a lot of fun to stay at for a week. The room was super small for a family of four that was carrying enough clothes, toys, food and such to get them through 4 weeks of homelessness. But, getting to watch Town Square hopping 24 hours a day was kind of cool. From the meditation group that is there in the wee hours of the morning to the teenagers and drunk middle-agers hanging around the fountain at midnight, it was a very eye opening experience for me, me who used to watch Town Square from 8-5, M-F. Ryleigh's favorite thing about staying at the hotel was the morning trip to Starbucks for her donut and chocolate milk just about every day. My favorite thing was not having to get up and try to get a house ready in the midst of two children, just in case a potential buyer wanted to swing by.

Yesterday morning we all got up and got packed. Jeramy headed to the airport and the girls and I headed north to Arlington for a few days with my sister. Tomorrow we'll be heading to Granbury to see the girls' great grandparents (Pam's parents) and then on to Austin to see my dear, pregnant friend Karen and her husband and good friend Jeremy. After that, it's on to West Texas for a few weeks before jumping an airplane to O Canada!

I know that once I'm in Canada and getting settled into our new home, I'll have lots of time to reflect on this experience and maybe I'll draw some wonderful, insightful conclusions about moving abroad. Right now though, in this moment as I sit here on my sister's couch with my former Rocky dog leaning on me, I - am - tired. This has been a very insane experience. I can not believe how physically draining and emotionally trying it has been. It all sounded so fine in the beginning and I don't regret that we're doing this but at the same time, wow. We spent so many years building up so much...two vehicles, a home, a job, a life, some dogs, some kids...all adding up to be called our nest. Over the past few months I feel like we've just been tearing it all down. Selling off the house and vechicles, losing a dog and giving away the other. Even our washer and dryer that we were so proud to finance in our first duplex is now gone with the house...the refrigerator that we bought the day we moved into the Bryan house when we discovered one didn't come with the house is gone. It's just so weird to watch so many things that mean/meant so much to you go away to the highest bidder. At the same time, it sort of cleanses your soul and reminds you that things are things and that things don't make your life whole, your family does.

At the core of all this craziness has been Jeramy, me, Ryleigh and Avery, hanging on for dear life. Last weekend we spent Saturday as a family. We had lunch at our favorite Greek food place in Houston and then spent a couple of hours at the Children's Museum. Jeramy took Avery to the baby area and I took Ryleigh to the big kid area. It was the first time that I felt like Ryleigh was able to understand so many of the exhibits and Jeramy said he could have scored 20 dates with all the attention Avery was drawing. That evening, we had dinner at some friends' house. All in all it was a perfect last Saturday in a place we've called home for over two years.

We'll miss so much about Sugar Land and Houston, but there's comfort in knowing that we will return. It's our home and it's our base. And while I won't miss the humidity, I will miss the life and friends that we built while we were there.

Peace out Houston....see you on the other side.