My youngest moved to Pittsburgh today. We had moved her big items to her new apartment back in October so it wouldn’t be a hazard for her to be moving and trying to get bulky beds and such up exterior stairs during a snow storm. It was supposed to be a joke, but last night Pittsburgh ended up getting nearly a foot of snow, so I guess it was a good thing we did it the way we did.
Even with her big items gone, we still stuffed her little Kia full to the brim with clothes, personal items, cookies, holiday gifts and a toy box she saved from a fateful trip to the dump.
Things here have been rather manic, in that we have put our house up for sale, so all manner of things have gone on. For #4, this has been very difficult. Not only was she planning on moving to another state, she realized that when she walked out the door, it might be the last time she was in her childhood home. The other three have been out and on their own for a bit, so while sad to see their “home” sold, they are established elsewhere. She hadn’t set those roots yet. This meant she needed some special attention, which I was all too willing to give. And honestly, I needed special attention just as much as she did. My baby – MY LAST BABY – was leaving the nest. I guess I can take off my bells now.
When I was a little girl, my mother tied bells to my shoes so she could find me when I wandered away, which I have a tendency to do – look! a sparkly thing OOooooo This is a behavior that has persisted throughout my lifetime and I still wander off. Hubby is so tall, he can practically spot me aerially, but #4 is a small girl and she would panic when I wasn’t in sight. Thus, during this time when she needed attention, some of which was retail therapy, she brought me home a pair of bells for my shoes so she could find me while we were shopping. I still would hear her calling “MA!”, but she knew I wasn’t too far because she’d hear me jingling.
Now that she’s in another state, I guess I can take of my “training” bells, but maybe not just yet. Somehow they seem to help me know that wherever I wander, someone will come looking for me.
Snippets and Tidbits 