Last Day

If I thought yesterday was exhausting, today was far worse. Long story short: we spent the day packing up and cleaning. In the morning I was a mess, seemingly more tired and worn out when I awoke than when I went to bed. Mother-in-law Shirley called to check in on us from Fayetteville, could tell we needed help and drove back up with Al instead of meeting us south on I-95 later in the week. The help was a great thing.

Around lunchtime my neighbor Heather Gould Smith (with whom I attended Wake Forest University years ago) was driving by the house with her children, on the way to Chick-fil-a. She saw Matthew hanging out in the moving truck and thought he might want some kids to play with. She pulled over and asked us if she could take him. I was THRILLED! Thank you, Heather!

Around the same time, our dear friend Cliff Lowery came back over to the house again today. He spent 2 hours caring for Colson, which freed me up to pack.

At 4pm I took Colson with me and Shirley on some errand running. I had to go by Jonestown Self Storage to extend the lease on our storage unit to the end of 2007. Fortunately, they were willing to give me the same rate as when I signed up in April.

Mom and I hit Wal-Mart, getting snacks for the long road trip. By the time we got home, the guys had made HUGE progress on the basement garage, which had been virtually unpacked. I was amazed.

As the hours wore on, it became increasingly clear that we weren't going to be ready to leave before dark. The kids were getting tired, and after much cajoling, mom and JH convinced me to go ahead on to Matthews, NC without them so the kids could get to bed. Matthew was absolutely devastated that he couldn't ride in the moving truck tonight, but that was the way it had to be. I wasn't happy about it either. I had hoped to leave the house with the boys and Jonathan.

I did one last walk through of the house. I felt like my heart was being ripped out. Lots of tears. Despite it's faults and monetary costs, I really loved that house. It was the nicest home I've ever lived in, and we had so many great memories there in the 3 short years we were in it. Walking through my beautiful home, crying, I wished I could somehow hold on to the past and still get what's coming in the future. It was simply awful.

In the car, Matthew said, "Mom, you look kind of sad." I explained to him that I was sad, because I wanted 2 things and could only have 1. I equated it to a time when we had 2 desserts in the kitchen and Matthew wanted both after dinner. You pick your favorite, but you still wish you could also have the other. While it's a smaller comparison, he understood.

After a brief detour to go back home to return the garage door openers, we were on our way. I tried to take in the views of Winston-Salem one more time...Reynolda Road, the canopy, the Children's Home, West End, etc. A few more tears were shed, but I did okay.

We made good time to Matthews and my father met me out on the driveway. When I got out of the car, he was there to hug me and let me cry on his shoulder. I told him it had been so hard to leave that beautiful house, even the stupid pool!

We got the boys settled in to bed, I got a bite to eat and visited with my folks a bit, then went to bed. At some point in the night I remember Jonathan coming in to sleep. Long day. Time to rest, or at least try to.