Whew. Okay. I feel better. After all, honesty is the best policy, my babes.
I haven't been dreading writing it because I have bad news to report, nothing like that. I've been dreading it because I'm lazy and I know it will take a lot of focus to accurately catch y'all up on Life As Of Late, y'know? But I'm here now. And I'm here eating left over KFC macaroni and cheese as I type. I've hit lazy-rock-bottom...so I'm ending it here. Well, not the macaroni. I'm going to keep on eating that. YOLO or whatever. (Mom, that means "you only live once". It's an awful phrase that's way over used in todays society and you do not have my or Bubba's permission to start saying it, even if it's just to be ironic. Also, I love you. Your hair is looking fab right now~*)
---BREAKING NEWS: CONFESSION #2---
I WROTE ALL THAT LIKE TWO DAYS AGO. I GOT UP TO GET LIKE A DIET COKE OR SOMETHING AND THEN I THINK THE COUCH GODS CLAIMED ME. THERE WERE NO WITNESSES EXCEPT FOR WINSTON AND HE DOESN'T SPEAK ENGLISH. WELL, HE DOESN'T SPEAK ANY LANGUAGE HE IS A DOG. OFFICIALS ARE LOOKING INTO IT.
Wheeeew. Glad to get that off my chest. See, I could have just kept on writing as if there hadn't been two days separating the thoughts...but that's just not the kind of blogger I am, y'all.
Time to get down to business.
I live in Lubbock now. Tyler and I, we're Texans. Like baby Texans, but still.
Here's how it all happened.
Selling Our House
So, as I had been warned, we discovered that yes...selling your house is a big ol' pain in the ass. If you read my previous entry then you know the work we put into getting the house like minty fresh before we put it on the market and started showing it, so I won't go back into that. I'll move on to the "showings stage". Y'all. It's so hard/annoying/weird to keep your house looking like nobody lives in it for 80% of the day and to be at the beck and call of complete strangers. Tyler and I would get a call at 8:30 am saying "Okay, make your bed, grab Winston, and get outta' there. You have a showing in twenty minutes". We would groggily follow orders, pile into the car and make ourselves sparse. The first time we went to McDonalds to get breakfast. Why? I don't know. I have never not regretted a day that I began with a McGriddle. It's just not a good choice. But we did that. The showings were only ever supposed to be about thirty minutes. After sitting in the McD's parking lot for about fifteen minutes we decided to head back, pull around the corner from our house and just creep until the people left. It was like 9:20 at this point and to our surprise...we saw no cars in front of our house. NewbZ that we were, we just assumed the people hadn't come yet. So we sat and waited. Tyler, quietly and patiently. Me...not so much. Here's how it went.
9:24: "It is 9:24...like...where are these people?!"
9:26: "Like...do these jerks not realize that THEIR TIME IS UP IN LIKE FOUR MINUTES?! We are headed directly back to bed at 9:30 sharp, I don't even care".
9:32: "LIKE OBVIOUSLY WE AREN'T GOING TO JUST GO BACK IN BECAUSE LIKE WE WANT OUR HOUSE TO SELL AND THESE PEOPLE MAY BE THE ONES TO BUY IT BUT HOLY SHIT THIS IS ABSURD. I THINK I'M ABOUT TO RAGE PUKE THIS MCGRIDDLE ON WINSTON AND HE DOESN'T EVEN DESERVE THAT"
9:38: "That's it. I'm calling Deb."
***Deb tells us she'll call our realtor and see if they were on their way***
9:40: "I don't even think I want people this freaking inconsiderate to live in our beautiful, glorious house. Honestly."
***Deb calls me and tells me that the people had already come and gone, left at about 9:15***
So. Yeah. After our first episode of house showing, I became hardened. I never wanted to sit and basically become Nicole Richie circa "Simple Life" just belligerently shouting at the window of my car again. Thus, the creeping spot was born. Anytime we would get the call to skidaddle, we would not roam far. We pulled into the location of my first melt down and watched from afar-saw the people show up, saw the people leave.
So life was like that for awhile. It sucked. I once left a City Bites cup on my counter before I rushed out to leave and had a panic attack in my car over it. Why? I don't know. That's just what showings do to you. They make you feel like if people see a soda from a sandwich shop sitting atop a counter then they will deduce that humans live in the home they are viewing and that if humans live in the home they can't. Also, maybe they hate City Bites. Which is ridiculous.
Another time, I was called at like 8 pm to leave. I had settled in for the night, diet coke in hand and Kardashians on the telly. (I'm allowed to say things like "telly"...I went to London. I'm basically British now, y'know?) A streak of sass ran through my veins and I deliberately left Kim, Kourtney and Khloe on the screen. I just wanted the people to know what they were getting into. A house that supports the watching of asinine but fabulous reality television.
We went to the lake for the Fourth of July and the house was shown a lot then, too. It was nice to be away from the fuss of it all. It was nice to not make a bed when we got out of it, to leave a fork in the sink, have a drink sit out. Well, nice for us...I'm sure my uber clean freak of a mother was in hell...but she allowed it. I think she knew we needed it.
We got back from the lake and life remained the same for a few days-cleaning, showing, sleeping, repeat. We were only a handful of days away from actually moving out of our sweet little house and staying with Rand and Deb before we made the trip down to Lubz. Then we got the call. A cute older couple had made an offer. We were under contract. The showings were done. I felt elated. Also sad. It was a bizarre cocktail of feelings. I'm almost glad that the house stayed on the market for two whole weeks (which in reality is like nothing) because the process of having to strip it down to basic décor, dashing in and out at any time of the day, all of it...made it a little easier to say goodbye. It didn't feel like home anymore. Just a really clean, super cute, giant trunk of memories that had been emptied out.
Moving Day
On the 15th of July, a Tuesday, we moved out of our house. It was a really weird day. Just seeing all that was left of our stuff be carried into trailers, seeing the rooms grow sparser and sparser until they were just four walls and carpet, was weird. What a juvenile choice of word, right? "Weird". But that's just what it was. I wasn't kissing every corner with sobs of despair like I thought I would. I wasn't dreaming up where all my stuff would go in our NeW hOuSe like I hoped I would. I felt like I was just trying to respect the time I had in this wonderful home. I mean sure, I'd be vacuuming or something and some tears would spring out...but I tried to recover and keep moving. All the chaos of the actual moving part helped keep me centered, too. As the day dwindled down, my parents, the glorious and hardworking people that they are, were buzzing around and finishing things up as their workers and Tim (my Moms cousin that works for them-he's always felt like more of an uncle to me) closed the trucks up, ready to head out after a job well done.
My parents had gathered up all the last minute stuff and they told Tyler and I that they would see us at their house, where we'd be staying for the next two days, once we had had a moment alone to say goodbye to our first home.
Me, being the psycho that I am, rushed through the rooms with blurred teary vision, and said my goodbyes quietly and privately. Lyler thoughtfully went room to room and bid his ghosts adieu. The emotion of the day, of the months, really, finally got to me and I just sort of snapped. I wanted to get out. I stood in the dining room and just angry cried at Tyler for being so damn thoughtful, for wanting to soak up our last minutes in this house. I didn't want to soak up anything. I was standing in a house that was so, so chalked full of memories of love and fighting and growing and learning and now it was all just so empty and echoey and I...I just didn't want to be in it anymore. I guess without ever realizing it, I had started to slowly say goodbye to this house when we taped up the first box weeks ago. Tyler, being the sweetheart that he is, let me be a freak. We had a snotty, cry-ey kiss in said dining room and then we said our last goodbyes to the home that had been so good to us.
Like Being in High School, but With Boys and Beer
Staying at my parents house was a great little vacation before the big, official move on Thursday. After weeks of having all of our stuff boxed up, of eating crappy fast food, of having to be up and out of the house at any given moment...we could finally just chill for a day. That night we had a steak dinner, I took a soak in my parents brilliant Jacuzzi tub, I looted my Mom's beauty cabinet, it was great. When my parents went to bed, Tyler and I stayed out on their beautiful back patio and drank beer and watched tv and it was just really nice. The next day Tyler was able to run to see his Mom again for one last goodbye and I'm so glad. Luckily, we got to have a lovely dinner with his fam a couple days before. They are such sweet people. I know he's really going to miss them all so much, so it was great that we had this bit of a "free day" to spend getting to do the stuff we wanted, not just "movey" stuff.
On my free day, I sat around with my own Mum (I'M BRITISH IT'S FINE) just letting myself be kind of raw and rugged-going from laughing to crying to trying to pry her Glam Glow face masks out of her hands basically every other second. That is something my heart already aches for. Sitting on the back patio with her, stealing sips of her iced tea, and just talking about life. Okay, I'm going to make myself cry (jk-I'm already totally crying) so I'm going to get back on track.
Mom and I made dinner and we all chatted and it was a really lovely last night. When the rents' went to bed, Lyler and I stayed up and made lists of all the things we would miss about Oklahoma. Tyler said he would miss weather and trees. I said I would miss family and friends. Tyler said he wanted a do-over because he thought we were literally just listing things about the state of Oklahoma that we would miss. I made fun of him. We looked at the sky and it was cool and clear. It was a wonderful way to spend our last night Home.
The Drive Down
I got up at about 7 am. My mom and I piled into her car to take her pups over to Sissy, my aunts, house. Sis was dog sitting Roxy and Jackson for my parents while they were moving us in. I was thankful that I got to see her one last time before we headed out, I love Sis so much. It was a mad dash in the pouring rain with two confused weenie dogs...but it was totally worth it.
We left, ran through Starbs, and headed back home to prepare for our 8 am departure.
I have to admit, I felt awful that morning. I think without realizing it, I had internalized a lot of stuff. On the outside, I was ready for the move. I really hadn't cried too, too much-not compared to how much I thought I would at least-I was good to go. On the inside, I felt horrible. My stomach was in knots, I was so tired, my whole body was sore and I just felt spent. Driving for six hours sounded like the worst possible way to spend the first part of my day...but what can you do?
We got our lil' cars in a line and headed out. My stomach gave me hell for most of the trip, at times it hurt so bad I thought I could pass out, but it subsided. Somewhere around hour 4 I started to feel a little better. Maybe it was all mental. Maybe my appendix burst. Either way, it passed and I was very glad.
Homecoming King and Queen
We arrived at the house, home, and it was all just kind of a blur. Tim and the workers had beat us there. They'd already started to get the big furniture in. My parents quickly joined in and before I knew it all the trucks had been unloaded and they were headed for a hotel. My parents and Tyler and I wearily grabbed some KFC (remember that mac? That was first-day-in-house-mac. I really should have probably thrown that away by now.) and plopped down on the willy nilly couches. (The furniture was in...it wasn't arranged.) The beds were just beginning to call our names when POP! The power went out. My Mom was ready to pack up and go to a hotel but they were all either booked or had outrageous pet deposits. (Winston, y'know.) About 45 minutes into she and I's mutual fits, the power came back on. Then about fifteen minutes later it went off again. Then about twenty minutes later it came on again. For good.
Weird first night.
The next day we went into beast mode. It was hard, guys. There were times when I felt like just throwing unopened boxes away and reconciling with the loss of whatever was inside BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT TO UNPACK ANYMORE. Luckily, I didn't do that.
My brother and Whit got there that day and my parents stayed at a hotel that night. When they left, my brother was like "Listen. I can tell you right now, Mom and Dad don't expect us to do much now that they're gone. So let's do this thang." And that's just what we did. That thang. In about two hours time we had hung about 80% of the pictures, did last minute arranging, assembled décor-a lot. The house looked great. I mean, yeah, there was still going to be a lot to do the next day but...hey...we made a dent.
The parents were pleasantly surprised. Then we got to work again. It was my family's last day of being here and they wanted to make sure that when they left, they were leaving Tyler and I in a comfortable, functioning home.
I am so thankful for them. Love and dedication seems to literally seep from their pores. Maybe that's why they all have such great skin. Or maybe it's the Glam Glow (gimmie the Glow, Mother) (just kidding) (maybe).
That night we made steak and drank wine and had champagne and it was just really nice. My parents headed back to their hotel to allow my bro&Whit and me&Lyler to have some quality time. We got a little toasty, watched some festive tv and had some patio chats. It was good. We stayed up too late, but it was worth it.
The next morning was the goodbye. I peeled myself out of bed and hugged and kissed my wonderful people goodbye. My Mom was thankful that it was quick, I think. We had both really, really been dreading this moment. With tears and sleep in our eyes, Tyler and I waved goodbye. Then we went back to bed. Then we woke up again many hours later. And though it felt strange to have the house be so still....no people racing around it with hammers or bed frames or caulking tools....no Mom chugging her 80th glass of iced tea while flying through boxes and cabinets and making it all look so lovely.....no Dad wearing his cute little polo's while busting his butt getting stuff done....no brother putting stuff together or making the yard nice...no Whitster helping me sort through all of my massive amounts of stuff and getting it put away.....just me and Lyler, a pitbull, and a really beautiful house. All thanks to these amazing people. If not for them, we'd be eating ramen on a table made of boxes wondering whether or not cable tv would just sort of...happen for us. We are so very, very lucky. If any of you are reading (besides Mom, duh) I just want to say it again- thank you. I love you.
Lubbock Livin'
It's been over a week since the big move, since we've lived in Lubbock.
Do we miss our families? Hell yes.
Do we miss our friends? Of course.
Do I miss Taco Bueno? All the time.
But if you made it through this very long post to find out how we really feel about living here...I am happy to report...that we love it.
We've been lucky to just have this week be kind of open for us. Sure, Tyler's had his job interview and little meetings and stuff-HE GOT THE JOB, YAY-but other than that we've just been kind of hanging. We've explored a bit, my friend KJ was able to show me around the campus a little, I've turned some of my own employment paperwork in and...yeah. Just slowly but surely we are starting our life here.
Things are about to get crazy for us both here in just a couple of weeks...so for now...like I said...I'm loving the lazy. I'm lounging around this new house of ours and just loving it. It feels like home. It really does.
I can't wait for you betches to come visit. Just make sure and bring me some Mexi Dip n' Chips and a muchaco-no tomatoes.
xoxo,
Kelsey
