Giving Thanks.

During the middle of yesterday's pack-up, the movers disconnected our wireless internet router and never were able to get it up and running.  Because of some important things that needed to be done at my job, this meant that G and I were sitting in my office from 10:00 p.m. to midnight last night.

Once we got home, G FIXED THE ROUTER!  Even though it was late and he had to get up early AND give an important presentation at work today.  I'm telling you, people.  Grateful am I.  Our marriage just might make it.

So now I'm sitting and waiting for the shipping company to get here and pack everything on the truck, and send it to the Mile High City.  Last night was our last night in this house.

As we sunk into bed, about three seconds before we were both snoring, G mumbled, "Well...this is it."

In general, I try to make it a point to like, breathe every now and then, and reflect on things.  That has gone soooooo by the wayside the past few weeks, as my life has alternated between moving at the speed of light, and konking out on the couch for hours at a time.  I have tried to capture a lot in this blog, but then I realize that not only is moving hard, it's boring to read about.

So, as we prepare to move out of our very first (and maybe only?) house, here are some observations, and also some things I am thankful for:

**Almost all of my friends have had all of their children during the time we have lived in this house.  (Rapper L, you are the exception!)

**My brother has graduated high school and almost finished his undergraduate degree.  He has fallen in love, and completed a very rigorous internship.

**All of our international trips have been taken from this home base.

**We have had some of the cutest little bun buns ever.

**I worked for the worst boss I have ever had for three years, and summoned the courage to leave.  He would actually yell things like, "I KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!  BUT DO IT BY 4:00!  DO NOT GO HOME UNTIL IT IS DONE!"  I wish him all the best, but I feel for the poor schmucks who still work with him.

**I am currently in one of the hardest, yet one of the best jobs I have ever had.

**G has managed to stay out of the hospital in the past few years.  Thanks to the kidney stone, I took over the hospital trips for him.

**G has attended many a nerd conference.

**And many a civil war battlefield.

**And many nerd games at nerd stores on Friday nights.

**B enjoyed LOST and Battlestar Galactica and The Good Wife and Mad Men and Vampire Diaries.

**B enjoyed some great and much-needed quality time with her BFJ.

**B's papa died.

**A few months later, G's grandfather died.

**Then began the hardest time thus far in B's life - which is now a memory and not a current reality.

**In this house, we have replaced siding, replaced a roof, cursed squirrels who have chewed holes in the new roof, waded through a water-clogged basement after the water heater broke, watched baby foxes grow up on our back deck, watched lots of deer, lots of neighborhood cats who slink around, lots of birds, some carpenter bees, and some woodpeckers who had a taste for our siding at one point.

**We have seen historical monuments, ancient documents, world-renowned authors, the lighting of the National Christmas tree.  We have experienced the chilly San Francisco summer and the brutal German winter and the breathtaking Irish fall and - soon - the dry season in South Africa.  We have done shark cages and paddleboarding and wine with friends and late night fights and tearful walks through the neighborhood and quick runs down the road for custard and fitful nights with rabbits in the vet's office and leisurely strolls through Dupont Circle at sunset.

**We have missed friends and spent time with friends and then missed them again.

I am thankful for all of these things, in one way or another.

I am thankful for the life I was blessed with in this area, and for the opportunity to leave it behind and start new in a place that is a much better fit.

I am thankful that God brought me through the rough times and taught me lessons and sat with me in the midst of the pain.  Actually, He held me up in the midst of it.

I am thankful for each of you who are reading this, and the unique relationship that we have.

I am thankful that I didn't know how quickly - how very quickly - I would be allowed to leave this area.

I am thankful that our Africa trip turned out to be a reality.  After all those years, and all those conversations and daydreams during all those hikes.

I am thankful for the G.  And the marriage.  And the friendship.  And the bun bun(s).

Here's to the next chapter.

(((Panic and complaining will resume in the next post.)))