Sunday, May 23, 2010

Postcards of a move

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I thought you might enjoy a few notes of the move.

Thursday I was in the middle of a full-blown allergy attack. I had tissue boxes in every room and tissues in my pockets and bra as I sneezed and hacked and dripped and moaned through packing our bags and organizing our house in our last day in VA. Kylie got to play at the cafe in the morning and later in the afternoon with her friend Ryan. I kept hugging her and saying (in a horrible raspy, stuffed-up nose voice)"I really appreciate you being such a great girl while Mommy has her allergy attack". My sweetheart simply responded, "I appreciate you too Mommy." Her sweetness and a pack of semi-sweet bakers chocolate chips that I found squirreled away in a food cabinet were the only things that kept me going.

Friday morning I was feeling better and Kylie and I were ready to say good-bye to our house. 052110_goodbye.jpg
That morning, she wanted to pack her backpack with some treasures for the trip. She packed her Nana bear, her stuffed lion named Sarsy, a stuffed flamingo toy I had gotten her the day before and her pinwheel. Then, quite deliberately, she went to my desk and got my tape dispenser. She added it to her backpack. I asked, "Kylie, you want to take tape?" She replied so earnestly, "Mommy, you never know when you might need tape." She reminds me of my Nanny all the time. That's something my Nanny would have said.

Kylie has made the ride to TN twice recently and she knows that it is a very long day. About two hours into the trip, she started crying and saying she wanted to go home. I pulled into a rest stop (it is nice these are open again in VA; they were all closed for a long time) to comfort her. Luckily, she saw and became fascinated with this water fountain.
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She loved that she could climb up and reach it herself. At first, she couldn't get the hang of the control and kept splashing herself in the face. This made her giggle and me laugh. Then she kept splashing herself on purpose to make us laugh. Thank heavens for this small thing that got us through the sadness of leaving. We made the rest of the trip just fine. Kylie is such a great traveling trooper.
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Saturday morning, Kylie was with her Nana and I was on my way to my Nanny's house to pick up her china cabinet. I can't wait to see it in our new home. Then I gassed up the car and turned it towards Florida. My trusty GPS must have sensed how much Atlanta traffic bothers me. So I ended up traveling 26East almost all day and it was a lovely (albeit a long ten hour)drive.
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Karen stayed in VA and watched the packers do their magic. And Kylie went to Dollywood with her cousins.
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And the moving journey continues. Stay tuned!

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4 comments:

Louise said...

I love how you are always so organized with your moves. Kylie is always the top priority and I love that. In too many moves, the kids are the last thing that is thought of. A hectic and tiring move for you turns into a fabulous adventure for her!

Safe travels!

Beth said...

Oh... I am so very sad we couldn't see you before you left! I know how swamped you were, though. I really hope we stay in touch... and if you're ever in town for a visit, we'd love to see you!

Great photos... Kylie is such a sweetheart! Hope the rest of the move goes well! Dollywood... how fun! =)

Teaberry said...

Exciting!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

I'm also sad we didn't get together before you left, but I'm very happy that you've found a great new spot.

Remember, if you're ever back in VA, you've got a place to stay!

Anonymous said...

I'm new to your blog and already fascinated by how much love you have for your little girl! And this has to be the cutest story ever! I'm looking forward to reading more entries about your wonderful family!