It’s so hard to believe it’s been over FOUR WEEKS since
moving day! It seems like yesterday in
many ways, though, and I’m thankful I still remember some of the sweet
details. I definitely want to capture
those before any more time slips by and I completely forget!
I originally had a different game plan for getting the girls
to school on moving day but that fell through the day before the big move. I was so incredibly thankful that Miss
Demara, M&C’s mom, was off that day.
It was a huge stroke of luck that, particularly on very short notice, she
was able to pick up the girls and take them to school in her van, which is
obviously outfitted with two perfectly-sized car seats.
The girls didn’t mind that I wouldn’t be taking them to
school. They were super tickled to be
riding in M&C’s carseats!
It dawned on me that morning that no one – apart from my
husband and me – had ever driven the girls anywhere. It was almost surreal to wave goodbye to them
as they pulled out of my driveway. They
were smiling and waving back, flashing the “I love you” sign all the way.
I had scheduled “Aunt” S and “Aunt” K to pick up the girls
from school. They found their way to the
bookstore, where they enjoyed a cookie and milk, and then a seat on Aunt S’s
lap to read some books. I know they had
such a fun time!
The girls got home – to the new house! – just after Daddy
did, the movers still having a few minutes to finish things up. They were very excited, but thankfully not “wild”. :)
The girls’ room was already set up, and I made sure they had
everything they’d need for a relatively normal night-night, including a
favorite bedtime story. Miss Demara
brought over supper, which was a huge blessing.
We were running a bit behind our normal schedule, but we
held our bedtime routine as close to “normal” as possible.
I put the girls in bed, bid them goodnight with the same
words I’ve used since before they were born, and I closed the door to their
room.
I was a bit nervous, knowing they were in a new space, of
course, AND with this being their first night in big-girl beds. I was listening to them over the monitor, and
I thought I heard some commotion. I went
upstairs, maybe 30 minutes after I’d tucked them in. I didn’t hear anything, so I turned out the
light in the hall to head downstairs.
I then heard B whisper, “She just turned it off.” For some reason, that still strikes me as
hilarious. The girls always call me “Mommy”
– to me, and to each other, and to anyone else.
I think that’s the first time I’d heard them use a standard pronoun.
I shrugged it off, though, and went back downstairs to sweep
the floors. Hubby had gone back to the
old house for a few more items, so I was alone with my [supposedly] sleeping babes.
There was not a sound in the house, as we didn’t yet have
cable or internet service. I was
exhausted, having had a couple of very late nights prior to the move, and an
extremely full day of directing traffic.
I was lulled into cleaning mode when something caught the corner of my
eye.
There stood Baby B, silently, at the bottom of the staircase.
YIKES!!!
I tried not to show my surprise, but to calmly show her back
to bed.
On the way upstairs, we talked about calling Mommy if she
needed something. You do not come
downstairs for me. I will come to you.
My heartbeat eventually fell back into a normal pace, and
the girls eventually went to sleep without further incident.
That was a day of many firsts, for sure…some very sweet,
some bittersweet, and some downright hilarious…which is really pretty fitting.
