I know you miss me ...

Bye bye Corrie!

Sunday morning and I do what I do every Sunday morning when I'm home. I get up just before 8, let Jack out, and pop the kettle on. At 8, I turn the TV on and tune in to CBC for 2 1/2 hours of Coronation Street. (Yeah, yeah, I can just see all my kids rolling their eyes right about now!) Corrie ... or as K calls it - C-Street ... has been around since 1960 (yeah yeah, that's actually longer than Mom's been around, kids!) and has the distinction of being the world's longest running TV soap opera. I got hooked just before I had Kevin and apart from the years in Switzerland, I've been a fan and watcher since. Despite only waking up during the commercials (or the good parts, as he refers to them!), K seems to have quite a handle on the show as well. But I digress. Last time I'll ever watch Corrie in Repen. After the show was over, I popped in on Jordan to show him Molson's cut. He (and his cats) didn't seem very impressed but I'm still sure that Molson will appreciate not having all that fur when we hit the road.

Right now, I'm sitting here and debating on whether to tackle the dishwasher or the laundry first. Laundry - it'll take care of itself while I'm dealing with the dishes. Then the pharmacy, back to Mondou to exchange Molson's collar (yes, Julia - you were right!) and then home again to try to tackle the gazillion things left to do before we leave. And all the while with this pain that seems to have taken permanent residence in my back and this dull throb of a headache that's also decided to drop in for a visit.

Verhovyna ...

Postponed due to Julia's surgery last week, we finally made it to Verhovyna this afternoon. While I can't remember exactly how long it's been since I saw Oksana, I know it can easily be summed up as "too long". We spent all afternoon catching up and then Julia and I were treated to Oksana's mom's delicious borscht and perohy. It was a wonderfully nostalgic visit - Verhovyna always reminds me of my old country place and Oksana's mom is a wonderful glimpse of what life might be like if my own mom were still here. Such an enjoyable day!

Chef Erika ...

After wrenching my back on Sunday, this is my fourth day of pain and another day that has passed without me doing much of what still needs to be done. Jordan and Erika invited me for dinner and I was not about to miss out on that, so I loaded up on pain pills, slathered on the Tiger Balm and headed over there. Dinner was delicious and so was dessert - Erika really outdid herself! Later, Jordan lay down on the couch and asked me to play in his hair, just he has done since he was a little boy. It was a lovely evening.

Later, after I came home, I cried.

Hmmm ... I seem to be doing a lot of that lately.

Lainey's Travelling Zoo ...

Myriam texted today to ask me over. After dinner, I convinced coaxed charmed cajoled crammed TimBit into the cat carrier and loaded Jack into the car and drove over to Kevin and Myriam's. I was happy that TimBit seem glad to see Kevin again and I think that Kevin was glad to see his childhood cat for what is most prolly the last time ever. After the visit, I loaded my beasts back into the car and made plans to return again on my own. Despite knowing that I'll see them again before I leave, I teared up several times on the drive home. After getting everyone into the house again, I had myself a bit of a cry. It's a silly thing to be sad, really ... I mean, I won't really be gone; I'll be back - I've still got the boys here and then there's still the house that's here as well.

It's silly to be sad ... the boys are adults and perfectly able to fend for themselves and have been for some time now.

It's silly to be sad. It's silly and I know it's silly. But I've never left any of my kids behind and my heart feels as though it's breaking and I'm not even gone yet.

It's silly. *sigh*

* ... sniff ... *

The Final Countdown ...

I think this is what they call the homestretch. It's Tuesday morning and we plan to leave next Tuesday morning. I've still got SO much to do, none of which is getting done given that I put my back out on Sunday and it's STILL hurting like a sunnunabitch! I'm stressed about what still needs doing, I'm stressed about what won't get done, I'm stressed about the road trip, and I'm stressed about all this stressing. I typically internalize a lot but there's so much of it this time that it's overflowing.

Recently, I was telling K about the last time I moved away from Canada. The company was there to take care of ALL the paperwork (visas, customs stuff, etc) and I did nothing related to the actual move but pack clothing and make coffee for the movers (on both sides of the pond). Then there was the transition company, who facilitated everything here in Quebec and were also in Switzerland to anticipate and alleviate every possible bump in the road and then smooth over the ones that managed to make their way into our lives. This time ... there is me. Not that I don't think that I'm up to the task, just that there is so much to do! But like K keep telling me, don't sweat the small stuff and just get here!

A lot of it is simple math. The contents of the home that I have now (3 storeys, 4 bedrooms, 3 washrooms, a basement, garage, backyard shed) will never fit into the home I'm headed to (condo with 3 bedrooms, 2 washrooms). Nor should it. This is a new life and not everything from the old life should be dragged along with me. As I look around, there isn't one stick of furniture to which I feel an emotional tie, nothing that I feel the need to bring to California. There is some art, some tchotchke, some books and dish ware. In the end, some of the things I hold most dear to my heart will be in the car with me - my daughter Julia, and my animals. And in the end, two of the things I hold most dear to my heart will remain behind - my sons, Kevin and Jordan.