The Weight of Stress
01 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Moving
January was a stressful month for me. Kyle’s work schedule changed, we found ourselves on a deadline to find a new house, spent many days and nights packing, and got busier and busier by the day. This caused many sleepless nights. And, when I did sleep, I didn’t have sugar plums dancing in my head, I had houses and cable options dancing on my deflating brain cells.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a cold twice in one year. Yet, one month after getting sick on Christmas, I came down with another cold that zapped any energy I had left. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. We had just found out the appraisal on our house was accepted and the buyers wanted to close as soon as possible. Not a problem, except we didn’t have another home to move into. Enter major anxiety for Crystal. All of a sudden Kyle and I had about 2 weeks to find another house. We expected this to be simple, but it was no easy task.
Finding a house to our standards was quite a challenge. When you are a homeowner and a landlord, and you take good care of your properties, you expect it to be that way everywhere. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I was amazed to find unclean and downright trashed homes listed for rent. I’m not talking about dusty fans and dirty windows. We walked into at least two houses with food still in the fridge, unflushed toilets, missing kitchen cabinets, filthy black, stained carpet and even walls with graffiti. It was that bad.
We found nice homes too, but they just weren’t any place we could find ourselves calling home. They were clean, large enough and in good neighborhoods, but they weren’t suitable to our family lifestyle. We had a few requirements: a patio/yard for kids to play, a kitchen with ample cabinet and counter space, proximity to family, and it had to be clean. Flat paint on the walls wouldn’t work for me. Now that we have a toddler and a baby on the way, I am well aware of how easy it is to scuff up walls, spill on carpet and damage tile. I need walls I can clean. And, I’m sort of a neat freak. Seeing dirty walls I can’t easily clean would keep me awake at night.
Just as I was feeling hopeless and convinced we would have to settle for a less than stellar house, we found something even better than I could have hand-picked myself. It feels like a house literally fell into our lap. Our new home is in a beautiful, gated community with trails and parks; it’s close to family and the school Kaden will go to, it is a SINGLE story (which is hard to find in Las Vegas), 3,000 sq. ft., 4 bedroom with 3 full baths, landscaped yard, 3 car garage, huge kitchen and has wood floors, tile, new carpet and paint (not FLAT) and even has a multiface fireplace. In one word: perfect.
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So, the lease is signed, keys are in hand, now we have to move! I don’t want to be a baby, but being 6 months pregnant and sick is not fun. Yet, here we are. There is no time for R&R. We packed like crazy and began moving boxes the day after we got the keys. The movers arrive this weekend, and we’ll officially bid farewell to our very first home as a Zuelke family. It’s bittersweet.
In other news, Kyle had to temporarily switch his days off work, so that’s put a little wrench in the craziness of our lives. It leaves me to tend to Kaden alone, give up any leisure activities I enjoyed on Fridays and have less time together as a family. But, it’s not the end of the world, and he’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming just in time for the birth of the baby who has yet to be named.
Kaden is back in swim lessons and still enjoying tumbling class, though he is exhausted after 45 straight minutes of jumping, climbing, rolling and singing. He is learning his alphabet and made one successful stride in potty training last week. He’s been quite the lover lately and asks to “hug you,” “help you,” and “kiss you.” When he’s feeling bossy, he says, “sit here” and pats the seat next to him. Simple pleasures in watching him grow day by day brings me complete happiness. I really couldn’t ask for an easier child. He sleeps well, he sits still to let me clip his fingernails and he helps with chores. His favorite tasks are filling Maya’s bowl with cat food and taking out the trash. I don’t even have to pay him yet.
February is here and spring is around the corner. This month signals a new beginning for us. A fresh start. I am excited to get settled and relax a little before this baby arrives. Keep your fingers crossed.
