What a challenge it can be when it is time to leave again. This time we were home three weeks. That is a long time if you are on a vacation, but it is really short when you come home and try to get caught up after having been gone awhile. I kept making lists of things that needed to be done, knowing I was writing down more things than I could possibly accomplish in the short time I was going to be home.
I had some things that I tried to finish up . . . Laundry- not only the clothes for the trip, but I was successful in leaving the clothes hamper fairly empty. We'll have clean clothes at home when we get back next week. Mail - have I said how much I dislike mail. Junk mail -blah! I'm not good at throwing away those catalogues or the magazines that I want to read, but don't seem to get around to. Plus there are business papers to file, bills to pay, etc. I tend to sort by sitting on the living room floor. I usually don't finish in one day, so then I have other stuff to do and it sits there a few days. For three or four days my to do list said get those papers off the floor. I was determined today to make sure the important stuff went with us so I could finish processing. And yes, my file boxes went with us. I could tell by Henry's voice when I pointed to those, "We're taking these???" that he was hoping this was a short enough trip that they could stay home. But I will spend some time on this trip on the odd pieces of paperwork I didn't finish such as balancing checkbooks, etc.
Poor Henry, we brought in a lot of stuff from the RV so we could clean it good before we took it in for its safety inspection and so it would be ready for this trip. We're really starting out with it cleaner than normal. And to clean it, you have to bring a lot of stuff in. I debated about which camera equipment to bring, but there are photo opportunities around St. Louis - so it all went back out. We had already driven halfway out the drive when I realized the tripods had not gotten loaded. And then there are the computer hard drives that hold my photos. I've got submissions that I didn't finish, so they needed to come as well as my large monitor. And, every now and then I get a request for a photo while we're traveling - so the 10 hard drives come with us.
I have two different friends in two different hospitals - so part of my day was spent checking on them and updating other friends on how they were doing.
And I wanted to leave the kitchen without dirty dishes or old fruit that would attract fruit flies and gnats while we were gone. I'm not a great housekeeper, and I did not leave everything the way I dream about, but several things at least got a lick and a promise today.
Henry is always ready to go before I am, but I am so grateful that he patiently loads the stuff in the RV that I drag out to the living room as packed and ready to go. And one of the last things to get packed is my computer. Because to give myself little breaks as I'm chugging along- I check email, read news things, a little solitaire to destress (yes, that one's probably a bad habit).
Today when we finally drove out the drive way, we still had one more errand - pick up my newly printed business cards. It took a couple of years, but I was almost out of them. I ordered them Thursday. They weren't quite ready when I called, but when they realized I was going out of town, they finished cutting them and stayed until we got there. Thank you, MinuteMan Press. And they even made sure I knew they had moved to a new location.
Whew! I'm done. We're on the road. We'll get to see Thomas briefly. My body is achy and tired. First on my agenda - a short nap in the front seat as Henry drives us down the road!
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