Monday, November 12, 2007

The Beach Makes it All Better...For a Little While

Sunday, I was irritated and grumpy. The boxes can't be hidden in a basement or garage. If we don't take care of them, they will sit out in the open. I had asked Matt to store items we would not need while living in Portugal. Oh, I don't know, perhaps my downhill skis and boots, his snowboard. Baby swing (we're not having another baby until we get back to the US), baby clothes, garage shelving units, etc. He decided not to use the storage provided to us by the military. We had to bring it all. Not a huge deal if we had a basement or garage. Unfortunately, both are hard to come by here - especially if you're a measly captain in the Army.

At any rate, I think we were all grumpy and tired. Confused as to what to do with everything. I mean, everywhere you turn, there's a box or pile. Every crack and crevice has something waiting for a "home." Just looking at it all and trying to decide where to start is exhausting.

So, we ventured across the street to the beach. And, sure enough, just the sound of the waves and the warm sun soothed us. Soothed us so much that Matt took us out to lunch and helped me do the groceries on the way home.
The girls went down for long naps and, after, Matt took them for a bike ride. I was able to finish Lila's room. She now has a dresser with clothes in it, instead of in boxes next to it. She even has a toy box. Olivia is jealous. But, Olivia's five million dolls keep her company at night and Lila was kind enough to let Olivia play with the things in the toy box for a little while before bed.

It's Monday night and I wish I could say that I got more accomplished today. But, no, I haven't. I think I need another walk on the beach. I'm grumpy, frustrated and snappy. There's so much to do. I'm losing steam. I wish, just for one day, I was "I Dream of Jeanie" and could just snap my fingers and have everything organized, put away, cleaned and hung-up. Oh, and dinner on the table and a two-year-old who begs to go to bed!

3 comments:

The Dunns said...

The beach looks like so much fun! Does it make the lack of space worth it?

I hate moving and unpacking, even when I have plenty of space to stash everything. I cannot imagine being in your predicament. I wish I had a magic answer for you, but...

Good luck!

Angie said...

I said the same thing to Allen about wanting to just wave my fingers or wiggle my nose, and get it all put away.

And, unpacking is never fun. Can you let Matt deal with the stuff that there is no place for on his own? Since he is the one who turned down storage?

Unknown said...

Ahh, great idea, Angie. I'll run it by him. But, since he's working a zillion hours a day/week, he'll remind me that I'm unemployed and ask me to figure it out. My parents arrive in two weeks. I think my father has his work cut out for him. In the mean time, I'm sending Matt to AKI (basically, Lowes or Home Depot) over the weekend to buy a shed. He wanted to get one through Afes. Yeah, that'll take six months. So, I think not - unless he can get one put on the truck from Rota (where the NEX here gets everything from) and delivered here next week.