They say that the most stressful things in a person's life are having a baby, a death in the family, and moving. Hubby and I are experts in the first one (three in three years) and have experienced the last two over the last year.
What I'm trying to say is....We're stressed. And we're taking it out on each other. Which is SO not what we want to do. But the exhaustion, chaos and transition is difficult for both of us.
Hubby was again back at the old place, this time to bring Patsy. I was here at home to do chores and sort meat. And if you've never spent three hours standing on your head to get hams and roasts out of the bottom of your car-sized chest freezer just to count, distribute, bag and return them to said car-sized chest freezer....well, then you really haven't lived.
I had to take a lamb and half a pig to my friend Lori today. I climbed my weary body into the pickup and set off with two Kiddos.
Can I just tell you how her smile melted away my exhaustion? A miracle.
Then that angel of a woman said "Hey, do you guys want to stay for supper?"
I could have kissed her.
She and I visited while the kids (mine and her daughter) played together. I had to hit the grocery store and (drum roll here) she told me to leave the kids with her and go get whatever I needed.
And while the urge to hug her and cry on her shoulder was pretty powerful, I did the next best thing.
I bought her cheesecake.
Because mamas need cheesecake. And mamas need to sit in another mamas kitchen and talk about something else besides the location of all our important items and reminding children that their sister is not a coyote.
Mamas need to talk about the election and food and joining meal exchange groups.
And then this mama headed home, put her over-tired children to bed and helped Hubby repair the hoophouse and feed Patsy. Then she put her over-tired husband to bed and sat down in the peace and quiet of her house to just take a moment.
All this mama really needs is peace and quiet and cheesecake....
Oh my, I'm glad cheesecake and a sympathetic friend entered your day.
ReplyDeleteMoving is stressful, even without kids, animals, etc. And I think it's actually worse when it's a local move like yours, because it's not a clean switch like it would be if you moved from one state to another. Without a firm, external deadline, the regular stuff of your busy life pushes to the top of the pile, and the moving stuff becomes secondary. And I say this because I've been there...14 years ago when I moved back here to the family farm from a townhouse 10 minutes away - took us an entire month! And we should have been pros - we're ex-Navy after all :).
When we got married I moved over 6 weekends and it was awful. This time we hired a moving van and moved the majority of it. But, there's still STUFF left. Moving cross country would be so much easier. My sister and brother in law were regular army and then medical school and I've moved them often. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't go.
DeleteLove this post! Don't forget mamas need friends too. :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Especially friends like you.
DeleteLove this post! Don't forget mamas need friends too. :)
ReplyDelete