A new year, a new home...

The last two weeks of December flew by and left me...exhausted.

I got home fine on the 14th. It snowed all the way home, but Colby had less snow than Dodge did. I'm glad I left when I did...if I had waited another hour, I wouldn't have made it home until probably Sunday.

I spent that next week packing up the rest of the house, closing accounts, making sure the school had the necessary paperwork to forward the kid's transcripts and data to Bucklin, etc. It was a busy week. Then, Kevin and I drove back down to Dodge on the 20th to close on the new house. We brought a load with us and left it at the house, then signed our lives away, changed the electricity company's bill to us, opened a new bank account and then finally, headed back to Colby. On the way, we had a message from UHaul...our truck was in Scott City, so we took the long way home and stopped there to get the truck. Friday found us loading that 26 foot truck. Kev and Bob loaded while I finished packing up the last items. We filled the truck up Saturday and crammed stuff into the Ranger pickup and the car and the diesel. Luckily for us, my additional husband, Lynn, drove the diesel and trailer down. I drove the car, Andy drove the Ranger, and Kev drove the truck. It had snowed again, but we all made it safely to Bucklin around 8 p.m.

We unloaded the necessities, a few mattresses to sleep on and I managed to find some eggs and made us a late "supper." We all unloaded the rest of the vehicles on Sunday and then the men-folk headed back to Colby for trip number 2. Miss Kat and I stayed behind to unpack and try to get settled. We also made an appearance at the Berends family Christmas gathering. On Monday, my men returned without Lynn, but with lots more "stuff." Once they arrived, Mom, Kat and I took off for Dodge. I needed to check on my refrigerator to see what time it would be delivered; and I needed to get a few Christmas presents.

Our first stop was Sears to check on the fridge...they assured me it would be delivered later that afternoon. Second stop was the mall to do a little shopping, then Wally-world, then the grocery store, then Blockbuster. All went well, except...upon calling home, my fridge still hadn't been delivered, so at 4:30, we stopped back by Sears. The delivery guy was getting ready to load it and head out for delivery. We ran to our last stop, Blockbuster (we were without TV, and I wanted to get movies for us to watch over the next week.) While at Blockbuster, Sears called...the delivery guy...he apologized and then said that he couldn't deliver the fridge as he had a party to attend that night and wouldn't be able to get there on time IF he delivered my fridge.

I was hot. Steamed. I had checked at the store twice and had called earlier in the week, verifying it's delivery...I was not going to let this twerp off the hook. He put me on hold. So, I simply drove back to Sears, where he had to deal with me personally. I did not let the twerp off the hook, even after listening to him moan and whine about how long of a day it had been and how he had this other commitment...blah blah blah.

He didn't deliver my fridge...instead, his boss bailed him out and delivered it to us. It might have been 6 p.m. before he was finished, but hey, they had promised me, and I made them keep their promise. I didn't get nasty or abusive, but I was mad and I was firm and by golly, they came through and delivered it.

Christmas day was nice, Mom and Dad came over, the neighbors from Colby came down and we had pizza.

The day after Christmas, Kev and I ran to Dodge to get furniture for the living room and some night stands for our room and he had some orientation to do for his new job. The 27th, we spent the day unpacking and trying to find things we needed (I still can't find 2 pair of capri jeans...) The 28th, we went to Big E to get my stuff and a different bed for Andy. On Saturday, the 29th, Kev and I drove back to Colby to "finish" packing. We loaded the flat bed trailer and the pickup...and still couldn't get it all back. So we drove home that night and back to Colby for our final load on Sunday, the 30th. Five trips total. Fifteen or so tanks of gas and diesel for multiple vehicles. Uncounted smashed fingers and toes, tired muscles and hands. Moving is exhausting.

But, here it is, January 2. The house is relatively put together...(I still can't find those jeans). The kids start School in their new school tomorrow. We have TV again. I've ordered the much promised computer for the kids (Internet access will be ordered soon...) We have a mailing address finally...that's another story. I know our new phone number. I'm getting better about telling Kev how to get around in Dodge (and not assuming that he knows after one trip...) We're together. Finally, after 2 months, we are together.