The few days before were pretty hectic. We spent the weekend before in a hotel with my mom and dad and sister and BIL. Those days were also spent finishing up last minute improvements in the house as well as general cleaning and last item cleanout. Monday morning was a final load of my parents' car of things that were going to AL and then, the inevitable...last goodbyes. :'( That's been a tough part of moving. I had gotten used to it through the years but knowing that I wouldn't be able to put my hands on them for atleast 6 months was a hard pill to swallow. I just tried not to think about that part of it...especially that they wouldn't be able to hug my boys for that long. I tear up know just thinking about it. Ok...onward.
Monday was Memorial Day and we had been invited to our friends' house, the Johnsons, for a cookout lunch. It was a nice change to just go and spend time with friends as we normally would. We ate good. The boys played hard. It was just a fun time. But, of course, more final goodbyes when we got ready to leave. The Richeys. The Browns. And, the Johnsons. Oh, how I will miss each of these families so much! They are my brothers and sisters in Christ and treat us like family. And, it broke my heart to see Charlie say goodbye to his best bud, Alex.
We made the move that afternoon to the Moore house to stay our last couple of nights in GA. The boys were excited to stay here! This is our home away from home. We slowed down for a bit but still had tons of last minute details to take care of those last two days so there was really no rest for the weary. Our last visit to the house was Tuesday night. We worked hard to get everything finished up, cleaned out and closed up. I was so exhausted doing all of that that I hadn't really had time to process "last visit" until I did my final walk through. Our first home. The home that I brought both my babies home to from the hospital with a beautiful nursery for each. The only home my boys have ever known. It was hard to pull myself away from their rooms. They were different colors now but I could still see those airplanes and trucks on the walls. There were so many "firsts" in that house. So many memories. But, with life comes change. This has been a phrase I have used throughout this move as well as "Such is life."
Wednesday was the big day! And boy was it a CRAZY one! Last minute packing. Last minute details like selling the car that didn't go as planned. Finding out one of my best friends is have TWINS! Due in January but we'll talk more about that later! However, this was a nice moment that eased our stress for just a bit. We just grinned from ear to ear for a while.
Charlie and Philip were feeling the stress of the day. Charlie was unbelieveably whiny and clingy and just all in the way. He wouldn't leave my side. Yes, we needed to just sit down and hug on him and love on him but there just wasn't time. We did as much as we could but it just wasn't enough. However, I don't think we could have done enough. Poor thing. We did lift his spirits when we showed up with the rental car. It was a minivan. Charlie is obsessed with vans so he and Philip just played in it for about 15 minutes when we arrived back at the Moores.
Somehow we managed to stuff and push and shove everything into our luggage and off we go to the airport. Well, kind of. Off to CarMax and the bank and the consignment shop and then off to the airport. Don't ask. It was a long process. Selling the car took much longer than anticipated so we headed to the airport much later than planned. This didn't help our stress level. During this process, I took on a major migraine. Many advil to the rescue and I powered through. To our luck though, the rental car offered to valet us to the airport in the van drove up in. Curside service! That saved us so much time from having to take the shuttle. Check-in was slow but security was a breeze thanks to having a stroller. They had a special line for families with strollers. It was MUCH shorter! Through security we go and guess what!?! Our gate was the first one past security!
Bathroom break and about 30 minutes at the gate and then boarding. We just couldn't have asked for it to be any better with two little ones in tow. The boys were excited to get on the plane as were Daniel and me.
Luckily, Charlie and Philip had decided who would sit with who so as we got on the plane there was no meltdown as to who sat by Mommy. Hooray! Philip just climbed right up in that seat by Daniel no problem and Charlie was elated because he was the one that got to sit by me. There was a swap in the middle of the flight though.
Waiting for takeoff is tough for a 6 yr old. "When are we going to leave?" "Where is the pilot?" "Why aren't we backing up?" "Do we have to back up?" "When are we going to eat dinner?" "I'm hungry." "Why aren't we leaving yet?" "Why do I have to wear my seat belt?" "Do I have to wear it right now or can I just wear it when we start moving?" And on and on and on...
Flight went well. My and Charlie's videoscreens didn't work properly so we had to work around that but thankfully, Philip's did so he was occupied quite easily. Charlie just kept getting up to go to the bathroom. There's no way he had to pee that much but it was easier than fighting with him about it. The boys slept for a few hours on the plane. Daniel and I...not so much.
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