kvetching up

Entry 1     6:27 a.m. Woke up at 430 to the sound of packing tape being unspooled.  Twas, Abby, who had yet completed packing, and consistently refused to let anyone help her. Her room went quiet around 5.  The movers arrive between 8-9. She will be cranky today, to be sure. Jenny was texting with el pinché, under the full effect of her nightime meds, when I pried her off the sectional and coaxed her to her bed. I was angry about this, but said nothing. She would lie or feign surprise, or more likely, both. I am, after almost a year of this, exhausted.  I am tired.  I am weary. I could sleep for 1000 years. I think my anger today stems from the fact that everything I do is for her, whether its a vacation the week we should be moving or readying the house for a move, the extra work I had and have to do because we weren't home; the riding in the sand dunes, riding with her behind the wheel despite the risk. Shit, the purchase of the car itself.  He...

 Entry 1    9:54 a.m. Leiney and I went on a quest for coffee this morning and ended up at Stumptown and Voodoo Doughnuts.  Predictable, but also, delectable.  So, yeah.   I tried to convince Leiney that, given the beauty of the weather, that we stay in PDX today. We are right on the river.  We could rent cruisers and have a time. But, unfortunately, I already primed them for Suicide Squad at an AMC tbd in Vancouver, while Jenny attends a baby shower. Abby will back her. Given it was my idea to see the movie, I guess we are going to the movies. I found an amazing book at Powell's yesterday, The New Star Chamber by Edgar Lee Masters. He was an intellectual and law partner of Clarence Darrow, novelist, biographer, poet and serial philanderer.  The last descriptor caused Clarence Darrow, of all people, to end their law practice. Written around 1900, The New Star Chamber is a series of essays deconstructing and criticizing  U.S. imperialism....

Entry 1  The Week Ahead, The Week Before We make payment via wire today on the home. Over the weekend we signed all the final paperwork. The notary was from Sumner, and was clearly afraid of the city--so cliche that Aesop captured the phenomenon 2500 years ago in the fable of the City Mouse and The Country Mouse .  Wow.  We get the keys tomorrow at 5.  We will bring a few boxes with us, and my coffee maker, which was too big for the current kitchen.  We went and walked the property over the weekend.  It's lovely.  I am pretty sure that it used to be a farm back in the day.  I came upon an old plum tree at the back of the yard, that had tiny yellow plums, the size of a thumbnail.  They were sweet and delicious. I have every reason to believe that the property to the south of us, covered in Himalayan blackberry bramble, likely has many more fruit trees. Packing is a slow process.  We have packed more boxes than I care to admit.  Yeste...

 Entry 1    4:39 p.m.  The 🐕 🐶 🐶 🐩 🐺 🦊 , pack animals that live with us, have decided not to let me sleep.  Bless their hearts.  That said, the joy my days are filled with, and they are, is because of the dogs and the kids. So, I will pay my dues, sacrifice sleep for happiness. We planned to pack today. We had a late start, Jenny's energy level has crashed the last few days. I made breakfast for the family, after Jenny and I got boxes around 11ish, and then packed a box and cleaned the kitchen.  Jenny just couldn't move.  We finally got downstairs, and her energy didn't pick up. At one point I turned to find her curled into a ball from exhaustion.  So, I packed a couple boxes downstairs and she did too.  But that was it. The kids have been little help, although Abby is far ahead of Leiney in packing her room.

 Entry 1     1:49 p.m. I am taking care of the dogs, have emptied and refilled the dishwasher, managed to dress myself and packed 3 boxes, all with my arm in a sling. I tried to pack with two arms  but that was stoopid.  I absolutely love all the physical chicanery y body has played on me these last few months.  The mind-body connection is real. We hired movers. Nevertheless, we are so excited Jenny has invited people to come move boxes over between the time we close and the day of the move.  I even rented a van for a few days before moving to transport boxes.  With my arm and shoulder malfunctioning, and a possible heart problem, well, I am not sure what I should and shouldn't be doing, other than changing my diet completely. Having a new puppy has been a great occupier of my time. I have potty trained her, taught her to sit. If there were ever a custody battle, I'm the primary, hahahaha.  It thrills me. I haven't had a puppy since I wa...

It Was A Very Good Year? Packing all weekend.  Almost.  I did other interesting things.  Took the dog to the vet, mowed the lawn, restacked boxes.  I am a nonstop movable feast. Yesterday, a friend of Jenny's was in town with his wife and kid.  We haven't seen this guy in 23 years.  Wild.  Anyway, he learned she was dying, so they planned a road trip from Irvine to Seattle.  We had breakfast at Lulu's.  We talked all things cancer, mostly.  There was crying and sorrow, but also glimpses of hope in the conversation.  Then, Jenny turned to me and asked if I knew what her cancer marker # is as of the most recent measurement.  I asked if she wanted me to lie or tell the truth, and obviously she wanted the truth.  I told her 15k.  She went white.  "That's almost double," she said quietly, trying to sound less terrified than she was. She went to see Sheila last night, and when she got home, she almost immediately start...