Here's the House of Mystery from the last post. Sorry about that.
Our official welcome to Washington. Funny story. I told Joshua that I wanted to get a picture of the welcome sign for my scrapbook. He tells me it's really small and probably not worth it, but I insist. So, as we approach the state line he tells me to watch the bridge for a green sign. Sure enough, there's a freeway sign that simply states "Entering Washington". Boring! So I put the camera away and enjoy the scenery. Then, I see the REAL sign (pictured here) and rush to grab the camera, but alas, my reflexes are way too slow after doing nothing but sit in a car for two days in a row. Well, Joshua knew how important this picture was to me, so we exited the freeway, turned around, and did it again. This time I had the camera poised and ready, but just ahead of us was a beat up old car blowing smoke out the exhaust that filled the air and almost blocked my picture. Thankfully, I got the shot and we were able to move beyond this section of freeway.
We arrived to the apartment around 8:30 (after my bladder caused us to stop every half hour for the last couple hours). After surveying the place, I sat down and cried. I had left my home, my family, my church, my job, my state, and here I was in a musty, moldy, dirty apartment. The next day, with the help of about 10 magic erasers (I'm serious - I love these things!), 3 air fresheners, a grout cleaner and brush, oven cleaner, floor cleaner, 2 pair of rubber gloves, and one wonderful mother in law, it was beginning to feel more like home. Now that it's clean I can finally start to unpack those boxes. Maybe I'll just leave a few packed and tuck them away in the closet ...
We've been busy bees all week long with Joshua working, unpacking, hanging out with family, and trying to get a feel for the new neighborhood. We celebrated our niece Madison and our nephew Richie's birthdays Saturday night. I can successfully navigate myself to many important stores: Michael's, Artco, Ross, Tuesday Morning, Target, Safeway, Big Lots, Starbucks. The weather has been terrific. Sure, it rained most of the week, but the days that are sunny are simply amazing. We have been able to go for walks and drives and take in the scenery. We have a view from our apartment of the water and Mt. Raineer (when the clouds lift). The next time it's clear I'll have to snap a shot.
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4 comments:
Hmmm... it's like I just heard all this an hour ago. Thanks for calling today. It was good to hear your voice and hear your apartment tragedies. Thankfully you are a good cleaner!
I totally hear you on the crying thing. As Jay and I drove away from my parent's house to come out to CO (I was the first driver) I was totally bawling. I don't think I've ever cried so much at one time in my life. I felt like I was deserting my parents, since my brother had already moved away to Japan. I think I may have cried all the tears out of my little eyes by the time we reached vegas...maybe not though, I think there may have still been a few sniffles the whole way. But anyways, now that we're here (and finally in a house) I love it. I'm glad to hear you got out some of your emotions by cleaning - that usually does the trick! And now you can relax...oh, except for those boxes!
I did exactly what you did. After Tommy and I unloaded the last box, I plopped down on the floor and cried! Thankfully, as you already know, it passes. It will feel like home in no time!
Welcome home :)
UA -- call me, bro, we need to have coffee or something. Actually, you need to come see my house!
-jer
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