We're here!

My hands reek of bleach. The smell is actually stuck in my nose. I spent most of my time today scrubbing something. All this to prepare for unpacking the things that I just packed in the last week. Not seven days ago, Gilbert and I spent the day "buckling down" in an attempt to get things put into boxes, and now it's time to "buckle down" again so that we can take these same things out of boxes. Strange? Ironic? Daunting? Yes. Necessary for my sanity? Yes again.

Cole and I decided to deviate just a little from our original plan. I was to finish work on Wednesday, spend Thursday packing, cleaning, etc, and get in the car Friday morning and head to Lafayette. But after sleeping on the floor for three nights and watching my poor boy's face light up just to talk to his daddy on the phone, I decided it was time to head on up.

I stayed up until almost midnight on Wednesday cleaning. Then Thursday morning my great friend Melissa completely cleared her schedule for the day at a moment's notice and without thinking twice and came over to help me. My request was that she come and watch Cole while I worked. Instead, she occupied her two boys as well as mine, rolled up her sleeves, and did some scrubbing, boxing, and moving too. When she walked in my door I was on the verge of tears. Two hours later, my car was packed (with only room left for a little 24 lb. body to fit), my house was empty, my tears were no longer, my sanity had returned, and I was thanking God for such a wonderful friend. I only hope that I can be the same type of friend.

Four hours later Cole and I were back with Daddy and sitting, happily and safely (although staring at those darn boxes again), in Lafayette--our new home.

Our duplex is not quite as cool as I remember it being when we first looked at it. How did we miss the dirt, the grime, the marked-up walls before? The last time I moved into a place where someone I didn't know had lived, I was too stricken with love and the excitement of being married to think about the fact that some stranger had cooked in this place, had eaten in this place, had showered in this place, had peed in this place. Gross. Today, I was not too google-eyed to face reality. I was just totally grossed out at the thought of Cole bathing in someone else's tub and rolling around on the floor where strange, maybe even dirty people had walked. So I rolled up my sleeves and I scrubbed. As badly as I wanted to be unpacking boxes, I got out the Clorox Clean-up with BLEACH, and I de-germed. It felt great. I now have two germ-free tubs and three germ-free sinks and toilets. It's a relief. I have never loved bleach so much in my life.Tomorrow's task? Cleaning the bathroom floors and emptying boxes in the kitchen. I'm actually looking forward to it.