Life

 2025 is upon us. Thank goodness!

I predicted that 2024 was going to be difficult based upon the life changes we were conquering, but I was woefully unprepared for what the year held in store. I'm waking up this morning in our new home, in a new state and without a job. I should be terrified. Instead I'm just really tired.

Perhaps I'm too tired to feel scared. Maybe that is a good thing! I'm fairly certain that if I were to feel anything right now it would only be anxiety and fear. I suspect that tired, although still not a pleasant sensation, is still more desirable. 

Today Timmy returns to class. He has had a fun albeit laid back winter break. I know that he is looking forward to seeing his 'homies' again. Perhaps the return to normalcy, whatever that may be now, is what I need to kick start me back into life.

Game Night

 Today we are packing up and heading to PA to celebrate NYE with my Mom and the Cousin Crew. Timmy is especially excited to participate in the NYE Cousin Crew Game Night. He had been too young during other years and has been missing his cousins terribly. I don't think the older cousins realize how much he cherishes the time that they spend with him. 

While I am moderating another rousing game night, Scott and my sister will be holed up somewhere watching the Penn State game. Fingers crossed all of the appropriate teams win!

I'm back

 Another Christmas has come and gone. Unlike any other year in my memory, this season I was struggling to find any excitement or joy. I felt like a fraud from the moment I put out my Countdown Snowman. In all honestly, I'm happier now that it is over, and that Timmy deemed it wonderful.  This year, preserving some semblance of Christmas magic became my priority.

Per tradition, my Mom came down on Christmas eve. I had a wonderful time hanging out with her for the night, and Timmy delighted in sharing his new bedroom with her. On Christmas day my sister and her kids came down, completing our family party and filling the house with noise and chaos.

Immediately after Christmas we all came down with a cold, which kind of feels appropriate for the year that we have had. After several snot filled days, we are all starting to feel like ourselves again. Hopefully 2025 will bring some authentic joy back into my life!

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Prep

 Merry Christmas week!

Ready or not, the holidays are upon us. This year they will be arriving with minimal tinsel, but it will be here nevertheless. We have a tree, a few cookies and a beautiful new home filled with moving boxes.Unfortunately everybody has come down with a cold so packing has come to a bit of a stand still. Now that we are feeling better, our efforts will be focusing on holiday preparations instead of settling in.  

Happy Holiday Monday!

Visiting

 I'd love to write that we are unpacking and settling into the new house. Instead, we have artfully created a "staged" effect. It looks like we are unpacked and settled while, in reality, the majority of our possessions are still piled in boxes 5 deep against the basement wall. Thankfully we have the gift of time to unpack, because it is probably going to take a few years to empty all of the boxes.

Yesterday I took a break from unpacking and went to visit my Mom for lunch. I love that I now live an hour closer to her, which makes quick trips home easy. I am looking forward to more lunch visits in the coming months (weather permitting). 

Today Scott is going to go elfing while I work around the house. I'm concentrating on infusing some holiday spirit. It feels like Christmas is almost over and we have yet to capture any festive feeling. I'm not sure if it is going to happen this year, but I need to try because the boys deserve a happy holiday season.

Tired

 Slowly but surely we are settling into our new home. Yesterday our trash can, a bidet and Robby's bed were all delivered. (We were all excited for very unique reasons.) The living room is quasi-assembled and the kitchen is functional, but the majority of our treasures remain boxed in the basement. At this point, I want to get through Christmas before I go into unpacking warrior mode.

My leg has been feeling the impact of this move. I am developing bruises and small pinch cuts where my socket is no longer fitting. In the new year I definitely need to add "get a new leg" to my list because I'm tired of hobbling around.

In fact, today I'm just really tired. I think I may take the day off and just rest. I've been going at full speed for several weeks and I am feeling the fumes. Who knows, maybe I can capture some holiday spirit for my efforts!

We moved!

 My apologies for missing a week of blogs. As the movers began to haul away boxes on Tuesday morning, it became clear that we were not ready for the impending move. Despite the countless hours I spent carefully packing and planning, the day was chaotic and beyond exhausting. 

During the initial estimate, our movers said they believed it would take approximately 6-8 hours for the entire move. After it took the movers 6 hours to pack up the house in Virginia, I gave up any semblance of planning and switched into moving survival mode. After an extraordinarily long 13 total hours, we were surrounded by a maze of boxes and furniture in a new house in West Virginia.

Scott was an absolute rock star during the move. He was still outside, running up and down stairs and directing the movers late into the evening. I tried to keep up, but my body shut down. I ended up hiding in the bathtub with the cats.

Slowly we have been settling in and getting used to our new home. The house is beautiful and Friend (and Timmy) seem to love our snow covered wooded yard. I know it will take awhile for it to feel like home, but I am up for the challenge!