We Made It

We made it to our new home, after three tough days of driving. We all rode inside the cab of the 26" U Haul truck. Even our dog was there. It was so uncomfortable and my surgically repaired foot/ankle throbbed and swelled. But, thank God, we made it alive.

There are piles of boxes in every room. It's our 5th day here, and many things have been put up, but so much is left. Our new home is the smallest place we've ever lived and I'm so thankful for the unfinished basement. Over half of these boxes will be sent down to the lower level.

I'm loving the coziness of the house and am looking forward to making it feel like home. I've always decorated with traditional colors, but I'm trying to only use colors and objects that make me happy.

As I get older, I want to feel like my house reflects who I am. I always decorated in a way that I thought would make people think it was nice. So, I used mostly beige and more beige. Now, I want some red!

It would be so nice to have no chemical allergies or food restrictions. The house had just been painted with low-odor paint, but it still has been bothering me. I've had to take Benadryl every day. So, I'm groggy and sleepy during the day. I even had a blood-curdling scream in my sleep this week. Hubby told me the next morning, even though I don't remember a dream or anything.

My tremor and myoclonus have been worse than usual. I can understand that if these things are worsened by stress, because I certainly feel stressed. I didn't think that moving would affect me so much mentally.

As we left the Mid-West, I tried to take in the beauty and aura of the town we spent six years in. It was a lovely place, even though I spent almost all my time indoors. As we drove east and saw all the different types of places, I longed for the memories of times in our Virginia home.

The first night we arrived I felt so tired. I was extremely stressed and mentally not in a good place. With visitors and needing to eat a healthy meal, I tried to fix food in a kitchen that wasn't really functional. Suddenly, I felt depressed. It wasn't a panic attack, but I felt completely overwhelmed..

I believe that my pain level was so high that I couldn't tolerate one more added pressure. I've only tried to unpack a little, and have relied on my youngest to be my arms and legs. He's quite good at putting things in order, even though he is slow. I say slow because I compare everything to how fast I was when I was younger and healthy.

I was again overwhelmed and depressed last night. Both wrists have been throbbing and are basically useless. Mornings are slightly better than the rest of the day.

I'm very thankful for this house and that we can spend time around our son and grandkids. Their family is very precious to us. Parents of adult children still worry and want to be valuable to adult children. I hope that we can be helpful and not hinder anything that God has planned for them.

I trust that I will warm up to this beautiful place and feel at home. Just as I have to be patient with my body, I'll try to be patient with my mind and emotions. My body is hurting and will need a few weeks to recover from the trip. My emotions will also need time to catch up with my new surroundings.

Chronic illness and pain are making my life difficult, but they don't stop me from living.

@2025, copyright Lisa Ehrman