Hotel "Living"

Captain’s Log: Day 3 inside the Belly of the Beast…

Oh, boy.  As everyone already knows, talking about an unpleasant situation and living an unpleasant situation are two very different things.  First of all, let me say this:  Our family is so incredibly lucky.  I am acutely aware of this and I feel I am reminded every day.  Just the other day when the movers came to pack up our house, I said to the head mover, (I see now ignorantly), “I don’t know how you guys do this intense amount of work day in and day out for 8+ hours a day,” to which the mover simply replied, “it pays the bills.”  We are so, so lucky.

Greg received a coveted career opportunity that allowed us to move to Texas.  We have a brand new house being built as we speak (hence the hotel living).  We are financially able for me to go back to school and get a Master’s online while I’m home with the baby.  Lucky, lucky, lucky.  Grateful, grateful, grateful.

A little background about Greg and me, we have always loved change.  As we look around us at friends, family, anyone really, we see that most do not welcome change with the level of excitement that we do.  We’ve come to realize we are the exception rather than the rule in this way.

When we moved to Virginia, it was an adventure.  When we moved to California, it was an adventure.  Now that we are in the process of moving to Texas, it is also…you guessed it… an adventure.  Now, that being said, here come the big fat BUT… the limbo in which we find ourselves at present has provided us with opportunities; opportunities to be patient, opportunities to work as a team, opportunities not to commit murder or cry into a giant bottle of wine, etc.

Greg and I arrived at the hotel on Saturday evening with two dogs, a baby, and all their (and our) luggage.  We were so exhausted from our long day that we basically crashed shortly after we arrived. I hardly noticed the urine smell in the room from previous animals.  The hardest day so far (of the 3…there are 60ish more…*immediately starts crying*) was yesterday.  It was Greg’s first day back to work so I was in charge of the dogs and the baby.  The dogs need to go out about three times a day, and Maggie needs to be carried on a front backpack thing so that I have enough hands to handle the dog leashes.  The first time I took them out, I made the huge mistake of using the stroller to carry Maggie.  I had pulled a muscle in my neck the day before and didn’t think I could carry Maggie in the backpack, but honestly it would’ve been easier just to do it and ignore my neck pain.  The dogs kept getting tangled on each other, the stroller, and my legs.  Anyway, I learned quickly and long story short, someone needed to be fed, changed, walked, comforted, etc. every hour of the day.  Also, it still smelled like urine in the room and I begged Greg to pick up some Febreze on his way home.  Exhausting day.

TV works occasionally.  Otherwise it's the Poltergeist snow.

 After Greg arrived home, I told him I was going to try to do some laundry.  We need to walk across the parking lot to the lobby building in order to get to the laundry room.  I took a giant suitcase full of clothes and two big jugs of detergent (baby and adult), only to find that a couple was in the closet-sized laundry room using all six washers/dryers.  I sighed and turned around to go back to the room.  I dragged the suitcase out of the lobby, down the step, across the parking lot, up the ramp, through three doors and down two halls, back to the room.  I went back an hour later to find the same couple filling more washers with more clothes, and I gave up for the day.  We went to bed to the sound of a heavy toddler running in circles on the floor above us.

Maggie seems to be doing okay.  She just needs the floor and some toys and she's entertained.

Sleep can do wonders for your willpower (and sanity).  I woke this morning ready to start over, determined to pull my weight in this family.  I got Maggie up, fed her, and fed the dogs.  Then I strapped Maggie to me and again dragged the suitcase and two jugs of detergent to the laundry room.  Thankfully, it was open and I started three loads of laundry.  Then I headed back to walk the dogs and so on and so on.  Grabbed the laundry when it was ready, only to find that I could’ve saved a few quarters by having one of the desk clerks breathe on my clothes for a minute or two, but alas I would not be dissuaded!  I dragged the damp clothes back to the room and hung them on every usable surface to dry.  So you are probably starting to get the picture here.

These dogs have seen better days.

I know this situation is temporary.  I know we will be in a beautiful new home soon and this will all be worth it.  Meanwhile, we are all counting the days.