Month of a Million Changes
2:49 p.m. - 2006-10-01
A month! Sounds about right, what with everything that's been going on.
After a frenzy of packing and moving and cleaning (and cleaning and cleaning and CLEANING) both houses, we finally got everything into the trailer. Then began the unpacking, the painting, the decorating, and more cleaning. Two weeks without a television or computer proved very productive for me, because this place is spotless. I've been keeping up on the laundry, which is a completely new and foreign concept to those who know me, and the countertops, dishes, sink, and bathrooms are gleaming. I make the bed every morning. I load the dishes right after I use them. I've never been so busy or worked so hard in my life, and it feels SO GOOD.
I painted our bedroom and bathroom all by myself, and they look great. I've hung all of the pictures and shelves, rearranged all the drawers, and organized the closets.
All the worries I had about not being happy living here have dissipated, because I'm loving it. I love the country. There are acres and acres of land to explore, and just as soon as it cools down (what the hell is up with this 90 degree weather when it's nearly October?) and the waist high grass either gets cut or dies, Ali and I are going to be doing a lot more exploring. It's so beautiful out here, and so peaceful. Though I don't have mountains or a body of water to gaze at through my windows, I have fields and trees and open land, and that's good enough for me. The dogs are thrilled to be able to roam freely, and I'm sure that they've had some exciting adventures of their own.
Ali started walking--really walking--on September 20th, and she's getting better and better every day. She'd been cruising for a month or more, and would take a few shaky steps occasionally, but now she's toddling all over the place. She follows me everywhere I go in the house, and it's the most adorable thing I've ever seen. I love to watch her fat little legs carry her, and the expressions on her face when she's in motion tickle me to no end. She's talking a lot more, too. She asks to go "ow-sigh," says "down dog," "Da da," "cheeto," "baba" (bottle), "lie" (light), "hot," "Lily" (our dog), "Dixie" (her Mimi's dog) and other things that I can't think of off the top of my head. She still isn't saying "Mama" yet, and I'm waiting patiently for her to start calling me by name. She babbles all the time, though I usually don't know what she's saying. She'll be a year old on the 12th, and I get teary every time I think about it. I can't believe that it's already been that long. This year has gone by so quickly, and even though things have been not so great in other areas of my life, the time I've had with her has been the most wonderful experience I've ever had.
I could write so much more, but there's vacuuming and mopping to be done.
Oh, and one more thing. We upgraded to DVR when we (finally) got the DirectTV hooked up, and OH. MY. GOD. How have I lived without this miraculous invention for so long? I'm so in love with it that it's scary.