BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS

What’s better than knowing there’s a child on the way?  I can hardly wait to meet my granddaughter Hazie.  I hope she will call me Abuelacita.

Last week I journeyed up to Boone for a couple of days, visiting old haunts & old friends.  Attended the baby shower hosted for my son & daughter-in-law by her family in Valle Crucis.  We lived there when my son Japhy was born so there are always many memories for me there.  Toni’s family-the Masts-were the original owners of the famous Mast Store & they are deeply tied to the Valle.  It was lovely to be with them at such a joyful event.  We’ll be back in February to meet Hazel Grace Ferguson.  Who already has an extensive library, I might add.  Including FRIDA COUNTS TO 10 in Spanish & English.  Start ’em out early I say.
The movers have come & gone.  They were fast, efficient & friendly.  It was amazing to see our household (for the next household) wrapped up & crated in 4 hours.  It was intense.  We stuck close trying to make sure nothing was missed or mistreated.  As it was a closet of clothes was missed & they graciously returned the next day to add it-& a few other items.  We’d ordered a 3rd crate but ultimately barely filled 2 thanks to Greg & Edgar’s packing methods.I’ll never forget the repetitive, rapid-fire sound of packing tape ripping.  And the sight of things disappearing into boxes.  There were words of encouragement from friends on this cool, sunny day as we interacted with exhaustion from a night up sick with worry.  Thank God for friends!  The truck will head to Laredo, TX soon to meet Strom White movers at the border.  They will carry the load through customs.  For that to happen copies of my Mexican visa & passport had to be scanned to the Ajijic office, anything with a cord had to be listed with make, model & serial number, boxes had to be numbered & marked with category of contents & letters in Spanish verifying the intent to move household goods had to be signed & scanned.

We are now down to borrowed tables & dishes, folding chairs, our queen size mattress-I forgot to say that yesterday a local mover came & took a small van load, including our king mattress, to my son in Charlotte-a sling chair Ben used at shows, & our red leather couch.  Which we can’t seem to find a home for-anyone interested?  Great recliner on each end.  We sometimes open a drawer or cabinet & realize the item we’re looking for is already gone.  So we adjust & find another way to do things.  But we are somehow content with it.  And we are sleeping better.

The clearing of the house has equaled the clearing of my mind & the halting of the buy-maintain-get rid of cycle leaves time to rest or read or visit friends.  I still watch at least one episode of CALL THE MIDWIFE daily & let the tears roll.  So cathartic.  Initially nursing was a calling for me.  A gift of giving.  Eventually it became a job that paid the bills.  I became more reclusive after hours, more self-absorbed-I gave at the office.  It was survival.  Less stuff means fewer decisions to make & saves time to be more…I started to say “productive”.  But productivity carries a heavy weight in nursing.  When laptops & timed visits entered the Home Health world the attention to patients declined.  (I love that CALL THE MIDWIFE addresses this in Season 6 that takes place in the ’60’s.)  That was the beginning of the end of my career.  Now I am ready & able to give.  To be generous.  To be joyful.

The next 2 weeks will be filled with meals with friends, finishing up of logistics, final trips to OCIM & My Secret Closet.  Ben’s sister Myra & her husband bought both our vehicles & will pick them up the Saturday before we leave.  At that point we’ll practice walking or using Uber if we must get somewhere, just as we’ll do in Ajijic for awhile.  Simple.  It’s all we need.

Finally, let me thank friends who’ve so generously offered to share whatever we might need, including food & fellowship.  And thanks to All American Relocation out of Raleigh & Alamance Moving Company out of Burlington for helping us through this stage of our adventure.  Muchas gracias mis amigos!

(As a post note let me say that in just looking over my cache of posts I realize that I’ve repeated some things in this post.  But I will leave it.  And hope you enjoy those things a second time.  Perhaps it is a reflection of my mind going over & over things.  Or just a confirmation of the joy of family & friends.)