Moments Worth Mentioning

Nothing is more American, then the Saturday morning yard sale. They come in their trucks, vans, and SUVs in search of a bargain. Someones junk becomes someone else’s treasure in a blink of an eye. Its the only place on earth where you can walk away with name brand clothing for $1, and picture frames for 25 cents.

My apartment complex has an annual yard sale that I decided to be a part of. I had several things stuffed in closets and in my attic that I had not touched since I have moved up to Michigan. I obviously wasn’t going to miss it if I hadn’t needed it in the last year. But as I started pulling a few things out, it become an extremely liberating event. I started looking around my apartment and categorizing things into “important” and “not-so important”. At the end of the day, I had filled up my living room with things that I wanted to sell. My life has become very simple in the past year, and having less “things” keeps it that way. Not to mention that I will be moving in August to a new apartment and the fewer things I have to move the better.

So I was up at 6am this morning putting my “junk” out on my lawn. I ended up with quit a collection. Bicycles, living room end tables, TVs, clothes, dog gates… the list goes on and on. I was shocked that I had all this useless stuff stuffed into my little 600 square foot apartment. Ah, spring cleaning is good!

As of 10am, most of my big stuff has been sold, and I have at least $100 in my pocket that I didn’t have yesterday. I will be calling it a day around 1pm to head off to the golf course. I plan to load up my car with whatever hasn’t been sold and head to a Goodwill. I have said goodbye to this stuff, and have no need to bring it back into my life (or my apartment).

Money for junk… Go Figure.
This is what I started out with this morning…

The countdown has begun! I’m so ready for a little vacation!!

I spent the majority of my Memorial Day weekend on the golf course, but yesterday afternoon I ended up with some free time. It was a wonderful 85 degrees. What else is a girl to do but layout by the pool?! I am hereby declaring that since it’s warm enough to wear a bathing suit, it is officially Summertime! I welcome the heat, humidity and flying insects with open arms. I will even take the sunburned shoulders without complaint. What a difference a few months can make!

Getting back to my weekend on the golf course… It was a pretty profitable three days. Not to mention that I had the opportunity to meet a great group of people and learn about an organization that is doing some unbelievable things. Let me explain:

Saturday morning, over 100 people showed up to play in a benefit golf tournament. It is an annual event that raises money for a family that has been plagued by a horrible disease-TaySachs. After 18 holes of golf, the golfers and their families gather for a picnic, silent action, carnival rides, face painting, dancing and fellowship. In the end, every penny that is collected is used to pay for the medical care that is necessary for their two children. I was honored to be invited to their party. I selfishly enjoyed the opportunity to have a picnic on the holiday weekend, but more importantly, I was extremely touched by the generosity of the group. This family would not be able to financially survive if not for the support of their friends and neighbors. These children are walking miracles, and I felt so honored to be able to meet them. I also felt very humbled by the entire experience. In a time when all you hear about is “bad news”, its nice to hear about a group of people that are really making a difference.

The story of Steven Curtis Chapman’s daughter is truly heartbreaking. I can’t help but be reminded that we have no idea how many days we have left in this life.

Thursday:
Everything is going great with Foster and Sadie. They both sleep on my son Nathan’s bed at night – Sadie sleeps under the covers with him. Foster sleeps at the end of the bed in his dog bed. They escort him to his bedroom each night and downstairs each morning. They also like to ride in the van to pick Nathan up from school, and seem to know what time we have to go. About five minutes before it is time to leave, they start prancing around and whining at the laundry room door that leads to the garage.

I said goodbye to my two dogs this morning… again. Finding a new home for them has been an emotional and frustrating journey. But I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, and meeting Andra this morning made the last 2 months of headaches seem worth while.

I have had this family in mind for about two weeks. We have had daily emails discussing various things about the dogs which allowed me to really feel comfortable with my decision. Andra is a stay-at-home mother of two boys, and is a founder of an animal rescue group. She and her husband have been looking at cavaliers for several years. The fact that she found my add on Craigslist is pretty amazing. I believe that it was meant to be for this family to end up with Foster and Sadie.

Our busy schedules caused us to postpone the meeting until this morning. We went back and forth about who would make the 1 hour drive. But in the end, she came to my apartment to meet the dogs. She showed up promptly at 10am. I was completely pulled together up until I saw her car pull into the parking lot. This was it… for sure this time.

Andra came to the door with flowers in hand. She said that the bouquet was from her two boys as a thank you. She also brought pictures of her family for me to see. I appreciated that she understood how difficult it was to say goodbye. We sat on the floor with the dogs for about half an hour. We talked in depth about their routine and habits. I felt like I was talking with a long lost friend.

We eventually loaded up her car with all of the dogs belongings. I took each dog and gave them a final snuggle. I wished them good luck and told them to be good. Andra insisted that this was not “goodbye” but simply a “I’ll see you later”. She extended an open invitation for me to visit anytime I wanted. She didn’t have to do that. I sincerely appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness. She also promised to keep the emails coming with updates and pictures.

I am absolutely certain that Foster and Sadie found a wonderful new home. Good luck babies. I miss you already.

You actually have a system for your bills, and it’s not a shoe box.

The term “energy efficient appliances” gets you kind of excited.

A cheeseburger, milk shake, and an order of curly fries at 3am sound considerably less yummy than they used to.

Having sex in a twin-sized bed is absurd.

You keep more food than beer in the fridge.

6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.

You carry an umbrella. You watch the Weather Channel.

You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.

You don’t know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.

Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.

You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald’s.

Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.

Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.

In some ways, I feel so old. But in other ways, I feel like I’m younger then I have ever been. I would dare to call my life “normal” for the first time in close to a year. I feel settled and adjusted. I have learned things about myself that have amazed me. I have grown closer to my family, and gotten rid of several toxic individuals. Its been a cleansing process and a necessary evil. In many ways, I feel older then my years. But then again, the starting over process makes me feel very young. Life is funny like that.

I am approaching some anniversaries and I can’t help but look back in awe of how far I have come. Next month will be one year since I loaded up my car and headed for my moms house. In August, I will celebrate one year of living in Michigan. Its hard to believe that I’m the same person that lived that life. I am so thankful for everyday that I am allowed to enjoy this new life of mine.

I have so many fun things planned for the summer months. Cancun with my family, spending Labor Day weekend on Lake Lanier, having tickets to opening day of Georgia football, spending my birthday with my mom in extreme northern Michigan, and most importantly… enjoying a splendid summer of clear blue skys, 70 degree days, and lots of sunshine! It will be a fun few months, that wouldn’t have been possible if not for my new life. Life is good!

Maybe being grown-up isn’t that bad after all!

As the weekend is winding down, I can’t help but feel happy and content! After a strange turn of events, the weekend shaped up to be pretty great. I sit here now with my two dogs curled up by my feet once again. I had a weekend filled with reunions and it was good!

My dad and step mom arrived around 2:30 Friday afternoon. They had been driving for two days with my two dogs as cargo. It had been three weeks since I had seen my dogs, and five months since I had seen my dad. The rain didn’t stop us from having a huge group hug out in front of my apartment! After a little while of settling in and unpacking, we went out and had a great dinner. We all laughed and caught up over steak and seafood. Delicious!

They decided that they would crash at my apartment for the night. They took my room, I took the couch. My apartment was not made to accommodate three people, but we made it work. It was what I would call some serious family bonding!

Saturday morning our plans for participating in a 2 mile charity walk got rained out, so we found an outlet mall instead. None of us needed a thing, but somehow we all managed to walk away with a few bags in our hands. As the afternoon approached, we found a spot for lunch, and actually ended up ordering breakfast. French toast, omelets and pancakes. Yum! After lunch we headed back to my apartment for a few more hours of relaxing before we had to head to the airport.

Their plane took off around 5:30. It had been a quick visit. I would have loved for them to have stayed several more days. They were so incredibly generous to bring the dogs back up here. I owe them one. I am thankful that things worked out the way they did so they could have the opportunity to see where I live. They had been meaning to get up here for a while, and this was the perfect excuse.

Sunday found me on the golf course. The weather was so-so, and so were my tips. Oh well, better luck next week. Warm (really warm) weather is supposedly on its way, and that will bring lots of thirsty golfers. I got home early enough to take the dogs to a local park for a nice jog. We all seemed to really enjoy the exercise and the sunshine. I couldn’t help but be thankful that I was able to spend the time with them. I am still planning on meeting their potential new owner early next week. (sigh) I still think its for the best.

Long story, short: Great weekend. Great family. Great memories!