toto i don't think we're in . . .

Kansas . . . oh, wait we are in Kansas. We arrived yesterday afternoon. Spent some time in the management office because of a few minor issues that were not taken care of before our moving in--things that we were assured would be done. I'm not even going to go into all of that--it will be resolved on Tuesday! We do like our apartment and we are slowly settling in.

After our time in the management office we had lunch at Panera and then made a Wal-Mart and Target Greatland run. Target Greatland!! I like it a lot. We then spent the rest of the day sorting and unpacking all of our stuff. I think I like living on the bare necessities. After not having our stuff for the past three months it was kind of nice not to worry about it. Now that we are sorting through it all and trying to decide what really needs to be out I want to live the simple life again.

I am enjoying seeing my pictures, candles and books again. Every time I pull one of these items out I think of a person, a conversation and have a flood of memories from Columbia . . . that's when I start to cry.

I've cried so much the past several days. Every time I would hug someone I would feel the pressure building in my throat and eyes. Of course I know that I will see all of these people again but we're not there and they are all not here. We've begun a new chapter. It's exciting and also hard. As silly as it sounds I feel like I'm grieving. A dear friend gave me a book the night before we left, "When the boxes are unpacked." As I went to bed last night I decided to read a little. I was completely exhausted from the day and practically melted into the bed but when I started reading a few lines from it I realized that what I was feeling was very real and not silly at all. I'm grateful for the book and for the friend who was so thoughtful to share it with me.

More of my thoughts later. Time to get the kids to bed and sit with Todd awhile before we both fall asleep. His first day at work is Tuesday.

Resting.