MI Or Bust

On the road. At a rest stop in Nebraska (see all of that corn...1000 miles of it)

Here's me 30 weeks pregnant and wearing the outfit I've been wearing for now 7 days straight.

Here's a sampling of the Hobo Spider that bit L. Did I mention I found one walking around in my hair the night before we left Utah? That was a fitful night of sleep.

I'm posting excerpts from a couple of emails as an update instead of thinking of new ideas--too exhausted to think:

We made it, the people (and the cat) are all alive but a few of our belongings were destroyed in the journey. The cat had a panic attack during the first leg of the journey but calmed down when she was moved to the cab of the moving truck. There she stayed the next 72 hours and apparently loved every minute of it. She has settled into Michigan like she owns the place.

I endured the journey well, considering being massively pregnant. Henry did too, he would "earn" opportunities to ride with Luke in the moving truck and so he stayed motivated to be a good boy. Since we've been here a few days he has started to struggle--the sleep deprivation has caught up to him and the reality that this is our new home, and not some vacation, has started to settle in. He has asked to "go home" a few times which breaks my heart. He has regressed in potty training just as I thought he would, but it's nothing a few weeks won't fix.

The weather here is super humid which makes us super sweaty. There are noisy bugs called cicadas that buzz all day long, sounding sort of like electricity. Our house is old (yet remodeled) and small but we think we will like it. Our bed would not fit into the house not matter what was tried, and so that will need to be sold.

The neighbors are very friendly. In fact, they are by far the most friendly group in a neighborhood I have ever lived in. We've been provided for, at least offers have extended, each night for dinner in addition to being helped to move in, our lawn mowed, invitations to various community events, and gifts of tomatoes and jalepenos. Our street is lined with tall/mature maple trees which is a very nice change to the nearly treeless Utah neighborhoods. It's also quiet, we love that.

My dad, who drove me and Henry, saved the day on more than one occasion. He kept things on-track (because we need help in that department in any scenario) and helped problem solve any issue that has arisen. He is currently visiting a cousin in Ohio and so I hope he has a lot of fun to compensate for all of the work he has done and all of the aid he has given us.

The garbage company is unionized and so they are old school trucks with the guys holding onto the back and throwing the garbage into the truck! Apparently we committed the cardinal sin of not sorting our recycling adequately enough sending the recycle-throwing-guy into a rage in which he chucked our bins across our lawn. If it wasn't so funny and if I didn't think he needed a job so badly I would have complained. I appreciated the comic relief that day. Our neighbor saw the rage too and came over to tell us what they've learned about sorting recycling. Next week we'll do better.

We are still working on getting government assistance, which is no easy task. Henry and I do have Medicaid now and I have a referral for a women's clinic from a neighbor who just gave birth 2 months ago. Cross your fingers they take Medicaid.

Luke's arm is doing really good, from as far as we can tell. He's supposed to get it checked out again but being insurance-less has prevented that so far. He still has several more days with the PICC line which is annoying but certainly not a problem anymore. All of his symptoms have subsided and we think that as long as the wound continues to heal he will be back to normal. He says he is doing really well with the move and continues to feel really excited about his future. For that I am glad because this should be a time of accomplishment and development for him.

I am trying to maintain a positive attitude because on the outside looking in, it appears things are going very well. And they are. But I am having a hard time adjusting to my new reality which seems all turned around from my old one. I am pretty lost here and very nervous about traveling on the freeways--which are CRAZY--or getting lost, because you DO NOT want to get lost in Detroit, MI if you know what I mean.

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Michigan is fine so far, the humidity is something new and a force to be reckoned with. My street has an assortment of wildlife: rabbits, squirrels, rats, and large squawking insects. The neighborhood is VERY friendly; I'm so un-friendly that I am experiencing serious culture shock about it. Although it is pleasant to have neighbors who are interested in chit-chatting over fences even if they are chit-chatting about things I have no clue about and often find myself nodding stupidly. Prices are more expensive here, except gasoline, which is frustrating in light of the very poor economic climate. Michiganders have that northern midwestern accent which I find charming though I hope to avoid it myself. I like the diversity I have seen here so far--a lot of cultures represented and I look forward to meeting people across these cultures.

Tonight, as things happen around these parts, the neighbors were hanging out in our front lawn and a family I haven't met before came over. They have an 11 year-old girl. She was very interested in my pregnancy and was bragging that she was born 9 lbs 2 oz. After I was duly impressed I asked her if her brothers or sisters were also big. She said, "Oh, I only have one brother and no, he was not big...my mom was supposed to be seduced the day after he was born but obviously she didn't need to be seduced." I giggled, politely, until she was distracted and I have been laughing to myself since. Awesome. Another neighbor told me that same girl came over to their house a few days ago to announce that her mother has consented to her beginning to babysit. "She said that once the kid is off the teet then I can babysit them." This 11 year-old girl is going to be my best friend I think.

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We traveled through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana to get to Michigan. There was a lot of corn and there is not much else to say about the drive or those states, from our perspective on the interstate.