The Great Swap

Happy October! My, it's been too long, but the past few weeks have been a little crazy around here. Caroline has so much to share with you, but for today, a little explanation of where we have been.

For the past 2 weeks, we have been experiencing the joys of packing all of our junk into boxes only to transport said junk 2 miles to unpack and find new places to stash the junk. I don't particularly care for moving but we did it so many times growing up that it would feel unusual for me to settle somewhere for too long. Josh, on the other hand, is not a mover. Until leaving home for grad school, he had lived in the same house for 20 years. 20 years! I cannot wrap my nomadic brain around that. Anyway, what makes this move extra "fun" is the fact that we are moving 2 houses at once. As we say around these parts, "Now do what?" Let me start at the beginning. So, last summer, we "swapped" houses with my brother and sister-in-law. Yes, we swapped houses. With family. My husband, being the gem that he is, thought it was crazy but he went along with it because well, he's just wonderful like that. Now fast forward 14 months to a typical Tuesday evening. Josh enters the kitchen after a long day at work. I say probably a bit too excitedly, "Hey! How was your day?" You know when you are anxious to say something so you try to act "normal" and it comes across as anything but "normal?" Yeah that was me. Josh just looks at me and says "it was ok…" Before he can say anything else I blurt, "so what do you think about swapping houses again?" He looks at me, sighs because he knows me, and says, "whatever you want to do darlin.' My home is wherever you and Punky are." Aww, didn't I tell you he was a gem? So why did we swap houses…twice? Well, I have wracked my brain and the only explanation I can come up with is that we are crazy. You know that saying, "the grass is greener on the other side?" Well that all depends on who is watering it.

So here we are, back in our old home. The good thing about moving back into a place you have lived before is you kind of already know where to put all of your junk. Now, the best part about moving is my mom is a pro at packing and unpacking. She and my dad have moved about 30 times over the course of their 37-year marriage. Wednesday, my dad and I took Caroline to her check-up and my mom was able to get her room all set-up, including organizing and labeling drawers and baskets. Oh and in her spare time managed to do 5 loads of laundry and rearrange furniture. She is probably the hardest-working and most efficient lady you would ever meet. She is always rearranging furniture- and my mom is a petite lady. We all marvel at her super-human strength when it comes to decorating. Once when asked how she did it, she shrugged and said, "I guess because I wanted to."

Here is a glimpse of Caroline's room… more (and hopefully better) pictures to come.

See the tags on the drawers? A hint to me to not just impatiently shove clothes haphazardly into them. The painting is an original Beth Whitlow, affectionately known around here as "Aunt Cookie." 

The organization of it all just makes my heart skip a beat. Seeing it took me back to being young and living at home. When my room just got totally out of control messy, my mom would spend a day cleaning and organizing every single thing. I mean there would be a tiny box in a cleaned-out junk drawer for the sole purpose of holding bobby pins. I would come home from school and be so happy and excited for a clean, organized room. So I love organization but not so much the work that goes into organizing. I am thankful for a mom who loves to organize and shows her love with her actions. She loves her kids and loves to help in anyway she can- particularly if it means she gets to organize and decorate.

Even though the past few weeks have been crazy and stressful, I am really lucky to have these wonderful people in my life who love me and embrace the craziness. My husband, parents, brothers, sisters, they are all on board this crazy ride and they make it bearable.