To Read on the Journey

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Denise, Who’s Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move


Inspired by the children's book
By Judith Viorst


They can’t make me pack my Kitchen Aid mixer or my ME teapots or my hallway photos or my Willow tree figurines.  They can’t make me pack my roller-skates, my acoustic guitar, “Stella,”my polka dot pillows or my “refrigerator art”.

My husband is packing. My son is packing. My daughters Emilie and Josie are packing.


I’m not packing.  I’m not going to move.

My husband says this house is no longer ours and that we have to move to the lake house until we find a new home.  My son, Noah, says he wants to move, and that the lake house feels like home.  I say this place feels like home. The lake house feels like it is a thousand miles away from home. 

I’m not- DO YOU HEAR ME? I MEAN IT!- going to move.

I’ll never have  neighbors like Don & Virginia again. I’ll never hear them on their back patio playing dice or be invited in through the back door to sit and talk over a cup of hot tea.  Who will I borrow baking soda from {i’m always running out of baking soda}. I’ll never hear a tap on my back door and be blessed by Virginia bringing us cookies.  I’ll miss Don & Virginia.   

I’m not  packing.  I’m not going to move.

Noah says I’m too sentimental.  Emilie says maybe it’s just “horror moans.”  Josie dances and sings “we’re moving to the laa..ake.” Michael says the lake house won’t feel like it’s a thousand miles away and that we’ll have new neighbors to borrow baking soda from.

Never. Not ever. No way. Uh uh. N.O.

I maybe could stay here and live with Don & Virginia. They have a dog; a yappy dog, Shorty.  I don’t like their dog.

I maybe could stay here and live with the Hilliards.  They’ve always wanted a live in maid.  I could clean their baseboards. I’m really good at cleaning baseboards.

I maybe could stay here and live in the play structure. I don’t think the new owners would mind.

Noah says I should stay here, and that I can use his Dangerous Book for Boys  book so I’ll know how to build myself  a tree-house, skin a rabbit, and make a campfire.
Emilie says it’s okay to be emotional.
Josie dances and sings, “we’re moving to the laa..ake.”
Michael says I should take a last look at my favorite places.

I’m taking a look- but it won’t be my last.

I looked at the view out the back window~ golden rolling foothills draped  by a brilliant blue sky {it’s breath-taking in the spring}, I looked at the play structure and pressed rewind on my memory~ I see Noah, Emilie and Josie playing there.  Emilie would swing for hours.  I would swing with her and as we’d swing we’d sing “ Swing low, sweet chariot, come’n forth to carry me hooommmeee.”
I sat on the couch in the living room in the early morning sun staring out the picture window to the swing up on the hillside.

I remember the kids {a hundred years smaller} romping around on that hillside with Belle {our yellow lab who went to “the farm” last fall} protectively following behind them {i miss Belle}.

I sat on the swing on the back patio and played “Stella” while swaying back and forth, surrounded by the green grass and cheery flowers framing our yard. I am reminded of little girls holding hands while running in the sprinklers, of camp-outs in the yard, of playing fetch with Belle, of picnic lunches on the lawn.  I’m reminded of  trecking over to our former neighbors’ Melanie & Steve’s house, of hours shared visiting over their homemade salsa. I’m reminded of our former neighbor boy Ronald Raymond Robertson playing here and the ways God moved mightily in his young life.
I KNOW God will continue to move mightily in his life. I’m hoping He is moving in mine now.


I’m not do you hear me - I mean it - going to move!

Michael says I should say goodbye to all my special people.

I’m saying goodbye but it won’t be my last.

I said good bye to Sylvia. I loved “walgging” {walk/jogging} with Sylvia, we had the best conversations. I said good bye to the Thibodeux. The Thibodeux really went out of their way to love on our family the 6.7 years we lived here.  I said goodbye to Julie.  I waited forever for Julie to move near me and now I’m moving away from her.  I said goodbye to Don & Virginia. Virginia promises we’ll talk on the phone every week. We better because i’m reallly going to miss Virginia...I might even miss her dog, Shorty.
i said a lot of good -byes to a lot of people and got a lot of hugs and kissess, enough hugs and kisses to last a person’s whole life.  I said a lot of good-byes- except i’m not going to move.

When the movers {michael, gramps, nana, eric, spinner, sheffie & jeremy} come to put  the red buffet on the U-Hauls truck, maybe I’ll barricade all the doors.  when Michael wants to take down the patio swing maybe I’ll get the kids to join me in a sit-in protest on the swing while holding signs that say “SHE MEANS IT! WE’RE NOT GOING TO MOVE!!

Noah says I’m being ridiculous.
Emilie says she likes that I am so sentimental.
Josie dances and sings, “we’re moving to the laa..aake.”
Michael says he understands, he’ll miss this place too, and did I get the spare key from Don & Virginia to give to the new owner?

Michael is packing.  Noah is packing.  My girls Emilie and Josie are packing.
I don’t like it, but I’m packing too.

They better not try to move anymore when we get where we’re going to go.

Because this is the last time I’ll do it.

The next time they won’t make me do it.
Never. Not ever. NO way.  Uh uh. N.O.

I’m not- DO YOU HEAR ME? I MEAN IT?- going to move.

9 comments:

Tasha said...

Oh, that just made me so sad for you. (it was written so cleverly after that book though. You are so fun.) Hang in there. Good luck with all your goodbyes and packing. I do not like change. Or moving. I will be praying for you.

TDM Wendy said...

Awwww. Best part: Emilie says maybe it’s just “horror moans.”
Moving is hard. We left our dream house 3 years ago. But now we are on a cul-de-sac so that's fun. And a guy next door smokes pot and the smoke floats into my kids bedrooms so that's cool too. Well, it's not, but still, we live on a cul-de-sac. Come back this way soon. And move here. My husband can help you find a house. Start looking:
www.thecoxteam.com

Anonymous said...

Moving stinks. Praying that this brings real, good awesomeness to your life. (((hugs)))

And Emilie's "horror-moans" is just right on target, isn't it? :)

The Writer Chic said...

=( Sheesh, girl, you made me tear up. Praying for you and your horror moans to smooth out. xoxo

Lynn said...

I feel your pain. Still can't believe I'm moving too. Now I just need to sell my house!!!

{cuppakim} said...

i have never really had to move, move.
college was brief and i came home.
my parents still have their house. and i'm only a few minutes away.

i can't imagine saying goodbye to so many awesome memories.

but, i think (think, b/c i don't' know) on the upside - there is a season of excitement and newness ahead - which is the best part of leaving something behind....is finding out what is ahead.

but i am praying for you this week as you embark on this bittersweet journey :)

mel @ the larson lingo said...

This post made me cry!!! We moved 18 months ago & I was so sad...it was the house both our girls came home from the hospital to, we had awesome neighbors, etc. BUT....our new house is even better & our new neighbors are INCREDIBLE. Better than I could have ever imagined. God had a plan. And, he has a plan for your move. Praying for your new house & new adventure at the laaake!

Linda Z said...

Sniff, sniff. That is all I can say.

Oh, and I love Judith Viorst :)

grey rose (they/them) said...

denise, i am so sad for you. praying god blesses y'all with delightful NEW neighbors, friends and sweet places to relax. moving is so difficult.
we moved here two years ago. no friends yet!! nobody gets close here. so weird and frustrating.
you have a sweet darling family, enjoy them extra during this new season of change.

love ya xo