At Last

At Last?

(Forgive the classic jazz references in the section titles--but nothing else fit as well.)

I'm an optimist. Anyone who knows me knows that. Yes, my week was far from over after closing, but somehow that seemed like the big hurdle and I figured the rest would fall into place easily by comparison. Silly girl. As you would expect, waking up on a twin mattress on the floor of a room I'd visited twice seemed a little strange. Oddly enough, this house has seemed like the place where I'm supposed to be despite miscellaneous practical concerns (--The lot's on a steep hill and I know I will be cursing myself come mowing and ice seasons.) I'd brought the necessities and could clean up, eat something, make tea and wait with some music for the movers. In reevaluating the space, I'd already changed my plans about where the office would be and which bedroom would be the Van Bogaert theme room--but most everything worked much as I planned.

Detour Ahead

The amazing thing was, I had thought of most every contingency--but one. How was the behemoth Arpin van going to climb my drive? Hell, the van IS the length of my drive. By the time James called at 8:30am, I knew this would not be an ordinary move. "James, there's a little theatre at the base of the hill. Park there and call me. I think you should see this place first." I fetched the boys in my cargo van and brought them to the "estate." James didn't flinch but confirmed that the van would not be making the trip up my drive and that we would need to triage from the theatre parking lot.

How Are Things in Gloccamuchmore?

If you remember back to my original plan, I was to close on Monday, take possession of my possessions on Tuesday, drive back to WI on Wednesday, pull together my handouts for the Friday workshop in Madison on Thursday, conduct the workshop on Friday, drive back to Cinci on Saturday, pull myself together on Sunday, and begin at NIOSH on the following Monday. OK, so I am a day behind already with the bumped closing. What does the triaged Arpin scenario mean? --Unpacking and moving twice. Yes, of course, it was the one rainy day that week. So instead of finishing at 3pm, they finished at 5:45pm. I left Cinci at 6pm. Made it as far as Elgin, IL around 11pmEST and couldn't go any further. Felt lousy on Thursday. Had picked up a cough and started to be concerned that I had pushed it too far and would start work giving NIOSH "buyer's" remorse as I showed up for induction in a consumptive state.

Nice 'n Easy

Moderation. Never one of my strong suits. Nevertheless, in the old days I would have stayed up all night to suffer over the tiniest details for my program the next day. Not this time. I knew that if I didn't get a good night's sleep, it wasn't going to happen. I checked out around 10pm. In true "the show must go on" fashion, next day was a wonderful program with Madison School Community Recreation's staff--about 60 including shirt tail relative, Sharon Neylon. When it was done, I had the most blissful wave of relief. I'd finished the third big thing on my list. I got together for drinks with good friend, colleague, and former boss, Cheryl Wittke and two great friends of hers and told good stories at Texas Tubb's. Met up with an old college friend who wanted to check in before I left and finally returned to Krusiec's at 9pm. Kathy had wonton soup and a hot toddy for me and I fell asleep around 9am.

Route 76

Saturday I slept in til 8. Made my last stops at the bank, post office, and packing up what was left at the house. Thomas and I had brunch at the Beachhouse and I finally left town at noon. Armed with a Grisham book on tape, cds of Learn Italian while You Drive, and Merrill (my GPS), I tried to enjoy the trip instead of pushing to get there. Around Peoria, it hit me. I could not keep my eyes open. Looked for the nearest open parking lot (the last thing I needed was to have someone break in -- break me and abscond with my computers), and sacked out for 45minutes. If you haven't done the calculations, my late start put me in Cinci around 7:30. My latest indulgence now extended the ETA to 8:15. Go ahead, throw in another 15 minutes for loo breaks and make it an even 9pm.

I wanted to stop along the way to snap shots of the wind farm south of Gary and the big fake cows advertising some huge farm destination spot--but couldn't reconcile another hour on the road. As I came in through the rain from Covington around 8:30, I was delighted by the Cinci skyline. Wow! Nestled in the river valley right in the crook of a bend. Quite breathtaking. I drove up Hwy. 50. Very little traffic. Came up on the lights of Mariemont and drove through town to Walton Creek Road. In a block, I was facing the Mariemont Players and veered to the left on Muchmore.

Muchmore on My Mind

The house looked charming and inviting. I'd left the lights on to welcome me. At the top laying next to the drive were two deer. They watched me drive up, slowing rose, and nonchalantly sauntered off. Yeah, if the house had been unpacked with a roast in the oven, it would have been pretty near perfect.

The first room situated was the eastern facing guest room upstairs. Until I had time to go mattress shopping, I would have to make due with the sofa bed. (Since spending 8 nights on it, I have purchased a foam mattress for it so guests will want to return.) The picture below is what it looked like during those first days--bed and mac laptop for movies and communication with the outside world (I drafted on the neighbor's internet until Time Warner came in week 2).

Below is the dining room and living room as seen from the kitchen. Note the "red carpet." It's gone now, but not the sentiment.

One of the first things I unpacked and placed where I could see them constantly were pictures of the boys and a photo taken about 12 years ago. Thomas wrote "I love you" in the snow behind my car so I could see it before going on a business trip.

What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?

With my life in boxes, I drove up to the secure Robert A. Taft Laboratory on September 28 wondering what I'd done.