St. Paul Sunday
I used to listen to this radio show every week and think that St. Paul must be a very good sort of place. Now I'm here, it's my first Sunday as an official St. Paul resident, and I do feel a break in the stress of the past few days.
Emotionally I'm a bit of a wreck. I think I should just go off into a room and cry for a few hours, then come out and wash my face and move on.
I chalk this up to several factors, tops among them:
FRIDAY
We arrived in St. Paul around 6:00 on Friday, unloaded and filled up the air mattresses. I had a minor (?) meltdown - stress from the road and too much time with a pre-teen who tends to think that everything "sucks" - and while Gerry and the kids had pizza I crashed.
SATURDAY
Our first full day in St. Paul - we headed over to the Mall of America because I was under the impression that I was supposed to be there for a signing or author thing. I guess wires were crossed, because I was cancelled (they weren't sure I'd make it in) and my signing for 4 pm on Sat was canceled, too. On the very bright side we ran into Shelley Hermanson of the Knitters Guild and we had a nice chat and hug and she got to meet my kids (and hear Hannah's two jokes several times - thanks Shelley for being so patient!)
Kind of a waste of a trip (and, of course, I'd promised the kids a few rides as a reward for being pretty amazingly wonderful for 3 days on the road...) so we had to do the ride thing. I used that time to sneak into Barnes & Noble and get online and wade through my 68 emails (not counting the spam - SO many emails...)
Then off to IKEA for some window shopping (we'll wait until stuff arrives to begin adding to the array of items that will not fit into our new house.
I am SO worried.
Once again - proving what a small town these two big cities really are - we ran into Joe, our friend and real estate agent at IKEA and had a nice sit down and chat. We love Joe (& Jennie!) and it just seemed perfect to run into him our first day here. Poor Joe will think we're stalking him...
After IKEA we went to Play it Again, bought roller blades for the kids, then to Target for some necessities. We were SO fried at that point that we had NO focus and although we didn't buy things we don't need, we missed some things that we GREATLY need (like a teapot...)
We did, however, get a garbage can. The way that I can tell that Gerry is fried is that he was SERIOUSLY considering a $99 kitchen garbage can. Hey - it's only money, right?
Then the highlight of the day - a low-key highlight, but I don't think we had the energy for anything else - we went to the Linwood Boosters skating party. There was ice skating (we didn't get blades for the kids, just the used roller blades) so the kids skated inside with the other roller kids.
We were hopeful that there would be some kind of kid connection, but it wasn't happening. As I said, we were all pretty fried, and have been our own little self contained unit for almost a week now - it's hard to break out of that. At one point Max wanted to race some kids, but they weren't into having him join them.
Hannah and Max joined into a 'steal the hat' game with some brothers and Gerry and I both thought H&M might have been a little on the rough side. Fortunately the brothers didn't think. Hard to get used to society again after being cooped up in the big house.
The best part of the evening was the sleigh ride around Linwood park.
The view up from the top of the hill was so lovely, and made me feel less lonesome for the beautiful view at the top of the hill by our old home in NJ.
Home to crawl into bed together and watch The Producers (I fell asleep, the kids enjoyed it - Gerry's back hurt...)
SUNDAY
SO today I was the first up, fed the cats, let the dog out, cleaned up the place in the basement where we hadn't let the dog out yesterday, then headed out to find some wifi (our own phone/cable/wifi won't be installed until Monday - then we will once again be on the grid)
And off for a walk - Grand Avenue is very cool - to the nearest Caribou Coffee for some free wifi, a chance meeting with a machine knitter who belongs to the Textile Society, and some time on my own when no one needs anything from me - mentally, physically or emotionally - for a few minutes.
I'm supposed to be at the Mall of America for a book signing at 1:00 and I seriously don't think I'll be removing my hat for the entire time. I also don't intend to dress up. I am a slouch. I dressed up yesterday - that was enough for me... I leave on Thursday for Tampa, for teaching, and I must say that it will be a relief to leave some of the stress of moving in behind me.
THE KINDEST OFFER IN THE WORLD
Last week Gerry and I read an email that made us cry - the MN Knitters Guild (hi Shelley!) will be putting together a roster of knitters to come by and help us unpack next week. It's hard to stress how welcome this assistance is - coming just when we need it (when the stuff has been in the house long enough for a first sort through, but not long enough for us to get to the unpacking...
It's kindnesses like this that keep me going, mentally. Thank you so much, SH!
Emotionally I'm a bit of a wreck. I think I should just go off into a room and cry for a few hours, then come out and wash my face and move on.I chalk this up to several factors, tops among them:
- I haven't been able to knit much lately
- I'm tired
- My knees hurt
- Gerry's back hurts (like hell)
- I have two deadlines looming and I'm scared.
- Will the kids like their school?
- Will Gerry find a doctor he likes and heal his back?
- Will I be make the mortgage each month (now that it's all on my back?)
- Will I need a doctor to heal my back?
FRIDAY
We arrived in St. Paul around 6:00 on Friday, unloaded and filled up the air mattresses. I had a minor (?) meltdown - stress from the road and too much time with a pre-teen who tends to think that everything "sucks" - and while Gerry and the kids had pizza I crashed.
SATURDAY
Our first full day in St. Paul - we headed over to the Mall of America because I was under the impression that I was supposed to be there for a signing or author thing. I guess wires were crossed, because I was cancelled (they weren't sure I'd make it in) and my signing for 4 pm on Sat was canceled, too. On the very bright side we ran into Shelley Hermanson of the Knitters Guild and we had a nice chat and hug and she got to meet my kids (and hear Hannah's two jokes several times - thanks Shelley for being so patient!)
Kind of a waste of a trip (and, of course, I'd promised the kids a few rides as a reward for being pretty amazingly wonderful for 3 days on the road...) so we had to do the ride thing. I used that time to sneak into Barnes & Noble and get online and wade through my 68 emails (not counting the spam - SO many emails...)
Then off to IKEA for some window shopping (we'll wait until stuff arrives to begin adding to the array of items that will not fit into our new house.
I am SO worried.
Once again - proving what a small town these two big cities really are - we ran into Joe, our friend and real estate agent at IKEA and had a nice sit down and chat. We love Joe (& Jennie!) and it just seemed perfect to run into him our first day here. Poor Joe will think we're stalking him...
After IKEA we went to Play it Again, bought roller blades for the kids, then to Target for some necessities. We were SO fried at that point that we had NO focus and although we didn't buy things we don't need, we missed some things that we GREATLY need (like a teapot...)
We did, however, get a garbage can. The way that I can tell that Gerry is fried is that he was SERIOUSLY considering a $99 kitchen garbage can. Hey - it's only money, right?
Then the highlight of the day - a low-key highlight, but I don't think we had the energy for anything else - we went to the Linwood Boosters skating party. There was ice skating (we didn't get blades for the kids, just the used roller blades) so the kids skated inside with the other roller kids.We were hopeful that there would be some kind of kid connection, but it wasn't happening. As I said, we were all pretty fried, and have been our own little self contained unit for almost a week now - it's hard to break out of that. At one point Max wanted to race some kids, but they weren't into having him join them.
Hannah and Max joined into a 'steal the hat' game with some brothers and Gerry and I both thought H&M might have been a little on the rough side. Fortunately the brothers didn't think. Hard to get used to society again after being cooped up in the big house.
The best part of the evening was the sleigh ride around Linwood park.
The view up from the top of the hill was so lovely, and made me feel less lonesome for the beautiful view at the top of the hill by our old home in NJ.Home to crawl into bed together and watch The Producers (I fell asleep, the kids enjoyed it - Gerry's back hurt...)
SUNDAY
SO today I was the first up, fed the cats, let the dog out, cleaned up the place in the basement where we hadn't let the dog out yesterday, then headed out to find some wifi (our own phone/cable/wifi won't be installed until Monday - then we will once again be on the grid)
And off for a walk - Grand Avenue is very cool - to the nearest Caribou Coffee for some free wifi, a chance meeting with a machine knitter who belongs to the Textile Society, and some time on my own when no one needs anything from me - mentally, physically or emotionally - for a few minutes.
I'm supposed to be at the Mall of America for a book signing at 1:00 and I seriously don't think I'll be removing my hat for the entire time. I also don't intend to dress up. I am a slouch. I dressed up yesterday - that was enough for me... I leave on Thursday for Tampa, for teaching, and I must say that it will be a relief to leave some of the stress of moving in behind me.
THE KINDEST OFFER IN THE WORLD
Last week Gerry and I read an email that made us cry - the MN Knitters Guild (hi Shelley!) will be putting together a roster of knitters to come by and help us unpack next week. It's hard to stress how welcome this assistance is - coming just when we need it (when the stuff has been in the house long enough for a first sort through, but not long enough for us to get to the unpacking...
It's kindnesses like this that keep me going, mentally. Thank you so much, SH!
16 Comments:
Gee, knitters can be so wonderful. Hope you de-stress soon and Gerry's back has a miraculous healing.
Cate
So sorry to hear that this move has been so stressful. I hope it gets better. I know shopping at Ikea always makes things better for me! As for the seeming coincidence of running into people you know everyone, it never ends- we call it Saint Paul, Saint Small. :)
Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!
Oh you poor woman - what a harrowing grouping of days. That's wonderful that you're going to be getting some help unpacking - Lord knows you need it!
Try and relax some - things have a way of working themselves out, even if your income is the only one, I'll just bet you guys are able to make it work. I can see why it would be worrying, but the worrying part won't help it work anymore, and will just make things harder on you. Many warm hugs and prayers that things ease up just a bit.
Oy! I wish I could come over, help a little bit, and give you moral support. Moving is hard. It sounds like you need to give yourself a little break--this is so stressful, and you deserve a little quiet knitting time. (knitting helps meet the deadlines, too, right?)
Here's to hoping that your husband's back starts to heal soon, that the kids get into a groove with the new school stuff, and that your house will feel like home soon!
soooooo glad to hear you made it!
the florida trip may be the ticket to helping you de-stress, if only for a few days.
and WHAT a great guild gesture; wish I lived closer so that I might volunteer.
(((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))
Moving is never NOT stressful. Ever. Don't be surprised if it takes the kids a while to bond with other kids - they're stressed, too. Rule of thumb is 6 months minimum to truly feel destressed after a major move. Michele.
I wish I was there to help as well. I've moved *a lot* and I know how tough it can be. In fact I'm moving again in a couple of months... just the next town over, but to a MUCH smaller house.
If good wishes and warm thoughts help at all, know that they are being sent your way. Bucketsfull.
Welcome to the Cities!! We're so glad to have you here. You'll be settled in no time:-)
oh great, and here i just sent you one more email :)
well, look forward to tampa, i'll see you in class on friday and, if you're still around saturday after the show, please let me convey you to the gulf for some seafood, some wine and some sunset. woo hoo!
hugs to you Annie. I'm so glad you all arrived safely, if frazzled. Moving is never easy, and the reality of "now I'm here, was this the right thing to do" is tough, but hopefully a fleeting thought. I pray six months from now you'll be reassured that this was the best thing you all could have done!
Time by yourself is vital. Hit that cafe often and de-stress and reset your mental health. And don't be so productive all the time. Sit and people watch and just be for a little while. Give your mind some empty space.
Welcome to Minnesota Annie, thanks for taking the time to talk to me today at the Knit Out event at the Mall of America, you were very kind and gracious despite what you've been going through.
I posted a picture of you on my blog, you look fabulous in purple!
-Pam from Knotty Generation
Dear Annie-something someone said to me that has helped a lot. ALL you have to do is the next FIVE minutes. You don't have to do the next 5 days all at once. I will say a prayer for you that things will even out soon.
Mary
Welcome home, Annie. Once you have your "things" around you and things look a bit familiar, you will feel a lot better. It does sound like you are getting out there and getting into the community. I can't say that I would have done all that you did, on Saturday, the first day you were in town.
Good luck.
Michele B in North Branch, MN
Moving is stressful. In my last move (the 3rd one since I moved to Minneapolis 8.5 years ago), I had movers bringing everything and friends helping me unpack. I thought my system worked out pretty well, so maybe some of this would help you coordinate the help from the Knitter's Guild.
My mom helped me clean the empty house (walls, cupboards, baseboards, closets, floors, windows) while the house was empty the day before the stuff came. The next morning, the movers came and brought all the boxes and furniture. My mom was upstairs and I was downstairs and we had little schematics (sort of like a knitting schematic - only with furniture on it) showing where all the furniture would go. Boxes were stacked in rooms where they would be unpacked or in nearby staging areas if those rooms got too full of boxes (the kitchen was too full, so we used the dining room). Then the movers left.
That's when my army of unpackers (aka friends) arrived. I was in charge of identifying what was in boxes and designating where exactly the items would go. My mom was in charge of garbage and recycling, so she walked around gathering empty boxes, packing paper, and bubble wrap. She broke down the boxes and folded the packing paper, tying piles with string and taking to the garage for the next garbage day. The army of friends attacked one room at a time as a team. That way, I could help with the directions and even handing of items assembly line style to their proper homes. The entire 1500 foot space was completely unpacked and all garbage gone from inside the house in less than 10 hours (with the army of friends ebbing and flowing with their schedules). I supplied food (sandwiches and pizza) and drinks (pop - as they call it in MN, water, beer) to the helpers along with regular breaks. We now have this as a tradition when someone moves.
The crazy thing is, your new views make ME nostalgic & missing the years I spent living in the Twin Cities! (Though I do enjoy daffodils so early down here in Kansas City..) And you're definitely in sweater weather there! Holy smokes, what a journey through the snow. May future days bring more peace & the fun of discovering all your "new" places.
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