Our quick trip to upstate NY this past weekend netted faster results than we thought possible. We were able to find a place to rent and settle on a move-in date, which is good seeing as how Gareth started his new job....TODAY! When is the move in date you ask? Pardon me whilst I cackle uncontrollably and then sit in the corner, and rock back and forth while licking my Valium necklace.
We move in on the 12th of December. Let the insanity begin!
I'd be remiss if I didn't say a huge THANK YOU to all of you who sent texts of encouragement, called us, and thank you for all of the prayers and well wishes for our trip to NY. We were worried we wouldn't find a place on such short notice and just the overwhelming nature of this sort of change, happening so fast...well we were really afraid that things wouldn't work out. But for once, I let that tiny silver strand of faith, that same strand that's been pulling me along lately - well I fell back on that string and let it once again, pull me along. It wasn't all roses, puppy dogs and lollipops though. Friday night at the hotel Gaby had a slight meltdown around 12:30AM (so I guess that makes it, technically, Saturday morning) saying that she wanted to go home because this place didn't smell like home and she missed her kitties.
I crawled into her bed with her, drew the covers over both of us and pulled her tight into an embrace. Her meltdown and the tiny teardrops that ran down her cheeks in that dark, distant hotel room mingled with salty bitter tears of my own. I did the "silent cry" that moms the world over and for eons, have perfected. Eventually her snuffles quieted and her tears dried and she fell asleep. I piled some pillows around her and then climbed back into my own bed and snuggled next to Gareth and drifted into a fitful sleep with dreams where question marks chased me down dark corners and blankets of thick fog billowed around my ankles.
I woke Saturday morning to a full on anxiety attack and made Gareth, Gaby and Matt go and get breakfast while I tried to pull myself together. For the first time in years, probably more than 20 years, I got down on my knees and through the hysterical hyperventilating I begged God and whatever Powers That Be to grant me the presence of mind to reign myself back in, get it under control and be there, fully, for my family. I eventually hauled myself back up and managed to send out a message to close friends and family that I could really use the prayer and then got myself into the shower.
I don't know what it is about a good, long hot shower that's somehow so restorative, but I felt so much better once I got out of the shower. I felt like not only had I cleansed my body, but my soul as well. OK, and I managed to wash off all the tear-smudged make-up that I'd forgotten to remove the night before which was making a rapid descent down the sides of my face, which I'm sure, added to my very frightening appearance. By the time Gareth and the kids came back from breakfast I was completely calm and I daresay, peaceful too.
In reality, I had no reason to be calm or peaceful. I hadn't had a great deal of success finding places to rent and we only had three to look at. I know that our timing sucked because it was a holiday weekend but for us anyhow, time was of the essence. Early Friday morning, two of the scheduled homes we were supposed to view canceled and asked us to come back the following weekend. We tentatively rescheduled and then made our way to NY anyhow with the one home that we reconfirmed for 2PM Saturday, and two possible others that were pretty much drive-bys.
For some reason, when we initially drove by the 2PM house, I wanted to turn around and go home. I wasn't sure I could cope with meeting a potential landlord and having to explain any possible "issues" that might come up with our home here in Maine. We have absolutely sterling rental refs and I wasn't concerned about that as much as I was what we'd say if he asked about what we were going to do with this house. I was also worried about being judged because lets face it...fat people are judged a lot more harshly than the beautiful people.
It turned out my fears were absolutely needless. The moment the homeowner opened the door and embraced my extended hand, a feeling of absolute warmth enveloped my whole body. He really was very nice and whilst he and his son were repainting much of the home and making a few small repairs here and there, he talked to us at length about the home, the area and the lake that the house is adjacent to.
Despite the severe lack of storage and the home being almost 800sq. ft. smaller than our current home, we were hooked. The homeowner was even amenable to our bushel of cats!
So m'dears, it does indeed appear that the asylum has found itself a new home for the next however long it's meant to be our home. While I absolutely dread the thought of packing all this crap up and the process of moving, I am looking forward to settling in and having a most joyful and jubilant Christmas celebration, followed the next day by a very exciting 4th birthday for a certain little girl who just happened to be born the day after Christmas, otherwise known as Boxing Day for all of our fellow members of the Queen's Commonwealth.
Here are a few pics of the new place. Oh and for all you creepy, internet stalkers - the rental insurance consists of a Glock and a SIG Sauer and there's also a highly trained, lethal, attack cat on the premises at all times. Just sayin...
Right side of the house. Exciting, no?
Look! A portable dock! I've never seen one of these but Gareth is already talking about getting some sort of contraption for the body of water across the street from the house. That's a rather frightening thought.
Now we move into the inside of the house.
From the side entrance you walk into the mudroom where there is some lovely blue tiles that I hope we don't smash.
Pardon the mess as we continue our little tour. Like I said earlier, painting and all...
From the mud room you can go a few places. Into Matt's room, through the downstairs loo and into Gaby's bedroom, or down a long L-shaped hallway and into Gaby's bedroom through the other door, or out into the living area.
This is the view to the south east, over the lake, from our dining area. The downstairs eating and living area is one huge space that seems pretty massive.
Kitchen
Matt and Gaby goofing off up in the loft which overlooks the living areas downstairs...
Looking down from the loft. You can only see about 1/3 of the living area from this view...
The master-suite is kind of oddly shaped. It's U-shaped with the loo right in the middle.
Through the master-suite you can access the loft...Matt was horsing around up there when I took this shot...
And that concludes the tour of the new Barking Mad Asylum.
Oh, wait a minute, I found another photo! Here's the view from our driveway!
Looking back, it's odd how everything worked out the way it did. All of our worries were basically unfounded and both Gareth and I felt at ease with our decision to go ahead and rent this house and do what we can to make it our home...for however long it's meant to be.
Gareth has a strong feeling that in the long run we'll be back here in Maine at some point. No matter where we put our heads down at night, Maine will always be the place we call our heart's home. There's just something about this place, despite how hard it can be to survive here full-time, that draws us close to it and beckons us to it's shores. It has since I was a little girl.
Slowly I'm coming to terms with leaving for however long I have to. I'm not going to promise that there won't be the occasional weepy, homesick post where I do little but whine and complain about missing Maine. But I have a feeling that upstate NY will be good for us. I think the change is what I need right now in order to continue to heal my body, mind and soul from the past two years. I'm going to do everything I can to embrace our new life and all the adventures that await us. After all, this is me you're talking about...adventures are bound to loom around every corner!
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Tomorrow I'm kicking off the Barking Mad's Crazy Christmas $300 Target Giftcard Giveaway! It's going to run from December 1st to December 14th. I'll overnight the gift card to whomever wins it so that you have it in time for Santa's Big Day!
Mr. Linky will be involved so get ready to tell us about what makes you joyful and share your favorite Christmas traditions as well! Or something similar anyhow! Oh and for this one, you absolutely MUST have a blog in order to enter. No exceptions!
See ya tomorrow!
