Progress

The trouble with moving every three years is that you get in the habit of always having 5 or 6 boxes which head straight to the garage, never to be opened or thrown out or even considered until the next move, when--if you're handling the move yourself--they head straight to the new garage.  But if at some point during those moves you graduate to hiring hunky young men to move the boxes for you, those self-same boxes sometimes find there way into the breakfast nook.  And when you open one, expecting to find that collection of plates with all your kids birthdates on them or maybe the white, tumeric-stained ladle, you come across this:

That's baby Daisy.  Look how sweet she is!  At first you're not sure because Sabina wore that little green dress, too, but this baby has two handies.  Remember that horrible wall-to-wall carpet?  Remember how baby gowns weren't popular then, and how happy you were to have this one instead of those boring onesies with the tedious snaps?  Everyone wore that green dress at some point, except Anatole, who was too big for it when he arrived.

And speaking of Tolie, look what else came out of the box!  Baby's first Green Card.  He was so fat upon arrival you suspected he'd been inflated instead of fed.  No hair gel required for that spikey 'do.

Here's baby Olive.  You put that teddy bear on the electrical cord to justify her faschination with the socket, but really, it was all about the cord.  With 20/20 hindsight, you like to refer to this unusual interest on her part as Clue #1.

It's a rude shock to tear into a box expecting a kitchen implement but instead finding yourself at Niagara Falls, Canada side, in 1986, with someone who is very much not LB.  How you two argued on that trip!  And how ill-suited you both were in your roles of driver and navigator!  Why couldn't you have just enjoyed being in your very early twenties, and did things that only people in their very early twenties can do: lift heavy boxes without getting winded comes to mind, for instance.  Or eat spicy food right before bed.  Sit down, stand up, sit down, with nary a perceptible change in heart rate.

LB and I have almost completely unpacked, shopped at IKEA, assembled two bar stools, a kitchen table, and a large bookshelf/curio cabinet with nary a disagreement or even a peevish remark.  Now that is something I could not have done in my early twenties.

First dinner in new house:

Comments

[Irma Perlman]

After the falls... you carry your own sweetnesss with you and there he is serving six adorable children.

[Tamara]

I can't get over that you almost completely unpacked, shopped at IKEA, set up furniture, climbed Mt. Fugi, etc. etc. etc. You did this in one WEEKEND? I don't get it! I can barely get myself and our 2-year-old fed, cleaned, and clothed by the time my husband comes back from work. And, yes, I have those boxes, too, only they're in the basement.

[kmkat]

I too am in awe of all you accomplished this weekend. I made a salad, knitted a few inches on a summer sweater, and pressure-washed the deck. Three days. Huh.

[Lo]

Love the 80's hair, Jen. Very Jennifer Grey. Lots of upgrades evident in this blog-hair, houses, husbands.... : )

[Badger]

Unpacking was always my favorite part of an otherwise loathsome task. And I love finding old pictures! Ah, '80s hair, how I REALLY DON'T miss you.

[paula & bob]

welcome home to EVERYONE!!