I have not, in fact, got any spoons. I'm not just speaking in the mental health metaphorical roundabout lack-of-energy way. We have two, I think, maybe three, spoons. The rest of them? Somewhere in a box. Probably a couple of hours from my present location. Hopefully, in a box that will get here on Tuesday.
Let me back up a minute. Or maybe more like a month...
I took this photo, feeling rather whimsical, as we were about to pull out of the driveway. I had The Little Man, the Cat, and a car stuffed to the gills. The First Reader was driving a 26 foot moving truck. A thousand miles later, I'd be very grateful I'd stuck random spoons in my gear.
I left Ohio a little over a month ago, now. I left knowing I'd be back, briefly, and then I'd leave one more time. After making it my home since 2013, I was saying goodbye. This was not a hasty decision. The groundwork for it was laid a few months back, and the First Reader and I had many long conversations. The dayjob was killing me, both mentally and physically. I was looking for a position, but that was a slow process and one that was limited by my search parameters. Then, things got really bad. I was in a position where I had to support the family, and I was being driven to my knees by what I had to do to bring in a paycheck. I needed to get some of the pressure relieved, and my dear dear First Reader told me to kick it all loose. So I did just that. Broke open the parameters for the job search, and started to handle it like a project, rather than a personal rejection every time a resume drifted off into the aether without a ripple.
The spreadsheet, when I stopped updating it, had something like 120 job applications, twenty-odd initial interviews, and five final interviews. I accepted one offer. But it was a doozy. It put me in a state I've wanted to get in, but it meant that life was going to be turned upside down and shaken like a snowglobe. We are still dealing with the fallout. Hence, no spoons. And my First Reader a thousand miles away tonight, and for a few months to come. Still, I'm better than I was. I'm starting to walk lighter, hold my head higher, and feel like I have a future again. I can breathe.
The present is a little shaky, but the path forward is lighter through the fog of uncertainty, and that's enough.
It's going to be an adjustment. We are living - and by we, I mean the Little Man, myself, and his cat Inspector Gidget - in a 972 sq foot apartment. Which is miles better than the week we spent living in a hotel room, while we searched for the apartment to rent! The cat traveled quite well, adjusting to each step better than I'd expected. The boy? well, now that we have a nest, he's tackling his plans with verve and enthusiasm. He put off summer school (his plan, really! He wanted to keep taking courses year-round, but paused to move) and has secured a job at a local fast food joint. He's a week into the working world and let's put it this way: he was lying on the floor this morning and telling me his body hates him. He's also still only fifteen, and they scheduled him for 35 hours on his first week!
First evening in the apartment. We had to buy a skillet so he could cook. It's come in handy, as stuff still isn't moved in, three weeks later. Not to worry, this was sort of planned.
The First Reader remained in Ohio to get the houses ready to sell. This was, according to the plan, not going to take too long. It's a hot market. Reality, as we all know, laughs when we make plans. See, there's work that needs done before we can put the Nut House on the market. Contractors are not available. Really. Not for love or money. So the plan now is, for him to do what he can, sell the house for what he can (no, we won't lose money. It's a hot market, thank goodness), and then live in the little house while he's working. Because that was the other monkey wrench in the plan. After having retired, a job came knocking for him. We talked about it, and he told them yes.
I promised I'd tell the story of the Epic Move. I'm not sure I have the spoons (hah!) for that tonight. This was one of the few days in the last month where I didn't have much to do. Other than taking the Little Man for his Coronajab, and doing a week plus of laundry, and art... I got a nap. Bliss. The new job shift is a huge change and I've been fighting for sleep, a battle I'm finally winning. Which helps a lot. I'm feeling more like writing. Although this post is probably not a prime specimen as it's rambling all over the place.
Having unloaded the dishwasher, I counted my spoons. I have three. And I have grapefruit spoons. So there's that.
Boudin kolaches are every bit as good as I expected them to be. Buc-ee's is kind of amazing. What really won the boy child over? Winco. LOL - he has a new favorite grocery store!
So, Cedar, how's Texas? Wetter than I expected. I've been told that this is unusually cool and wet for Texas, but it will make up for it soon enough. There is a reason I added a covered parking spot to my rental, other than a coworker showing me photos of the hail damage to her family vehicles. And I get out of work in the middle of the night, so at least the car won't be cooking-hot at that hour. I've been able to see friends, make new friends, and am planning to get together with other friends soon. The new job has a lot of promise, and I'm looking forward to getting fully trained and useful. They need me. (that's so good. Unbelievably good to see and know I can be making a difference).
I managed to photograph bluebonnets! I'm really looking forward to talking walks and learning this whole new biome I've landed in. But first! I need to get the spoons moved in. Maybe more of my books, too.
