I’m taking this weekend to get as much stuff packed as I can. My new employer doesn’t pay moving costs so I’m only taking what I can fit in my Oldsmobile, and what I can mail. The rest is going to a yard sale. I’m taking a break now and thought I would write a few words to update those of you who are following along.
It’s packy-packy weekend. I can’t believe I can fit this much junque into such a small room — I rent a room in a house — but so far it’s going OK. I need to get some stuff washed so I can pack it. I’m using space bags for everything that will compress. I’ve also gotten rid of a lot of clothes that I never wear and probably never will wear.
Good time for purging material possessions that no longer serve a useful purpose (I don’t consider taking up space to be a useful purpose!)
I’m feeling well, too! This is Day 12 after my last (and final!) chemo June 24. I’ll get my port out this week Tuesday. That will be nice. It’s an in-office procedure (I hope my surgeon puts me in “twilight” because I’ve been on the edge of panic and having serious panic attacks for a while). Next Monday is my final blood draw; I see the oncologist for the last time on Tuesday, and at that time, she’ll release me into the wild.
The following week, I leave for my new job.
It will take me four days and three nights to get there. I’m not usually this organized when it comes to making a trip, but I’m having to consider that I probably will not be feeling 100% yet, so I have my route planned highway by highway, and even hour by hour. I don’t know how long I’ll last before I have to stop for the night, but based on my current stamina level, I’m figuring about 9 hours. So I know approximately where I’ll stop and what AAA rated motels are along the route in that general area. I already have reservations in Billings, Montana. I did that, first, so I can get the AAA discount, and second, because the next most affordable place to stop is Rapid City, South Dakota, which is several more hours out and that would put me well over my 10 hour limit. I told my Dad on the phone last night and he thought it was funny that suddenly, in my middle age, I’m planning trips down to hour and making motel reservations. That is so not like me! But I do feel more comfortable knowing the route and knowing that I won’t be pushing harder than I should.
If I need to take longer, I can; I’ve given myself several days of “wiggle room.” I don’t really have to be in Kentucky until the 15th, although the department would like me to be there on August 1, if I can make it. I’m leaving here July 20, so I figure I can probably get there in plenty of time.
On the personal front, I think my SO is mad at me because my instant messaging system went down yesterday, signed me off, and I was off line all day — and didn’t know it. He’s not around, himself, today.
I think that depression has finally lifted. If I knew that all it would take was a bottle of Hogue Late Harvest White Riesling, I would have bought some sooner. As it is, I might go get another bottle tonight after I’ve done all the packing I can for the night.
To be honest, I think that conversation with my Dad on Friday didn’t hurt, either!
Solace 