A Whole Lot of Baggage!

Well the move finally happened. I am sorry for the delay in updating, I must admit I have been totally overwhelmed that I haven't been in the right mindset to blog but here goes the beginning of many updates. Lots to share!

For our move from Washington, DC to Paris there were a lot of things we needed to coordinate, especially considering we were moving to a new country. While the bureaucratic process of the move seemed to move slowly - work permit and long stay visas - the actual move happened very quickly. I booked our movers on a Tuesday and they began packing our stuff the next Thursday. For this move we decided to hire people to pack our stuff, this is definitely the way to go. When Mark and I moved from Montgomery, AL to DC in 2010, we tried to do it ourselves which was a nightmare! I have to give a big shout out to the team at Suddath International and United Van Lines, they made a really tedious task much better!

Since we were moving overseas, we couldn't bring a lot of "stuff" with us. GE would only pay for Mark and I to airship a size D container of household goods. I never actually saw the container but I heard it was very small but somehow we managed to ship 475lbs of household goods. Some of the things that made the list were pictures, Cutco knives, tumblers, our favorite electric wine opener - you know the important stuff!

For the remainder of the things we wanted to bring to Paris, Mark and I had to figure out a way to pack it all in checked or carry-on luggage which was a HUGE challenge. Thanks to Mark's status on Delta, we were lucky enough to upgrade to business class which meant we could both check 3 bags at 70 lbs a piece. I actually had one bag that weighed in at 84 lbs, that was fun! Lilly also had a bag, an extra large duffle which brought our bag total to 9!

8 of the 9 bags

So Mark and I have been living with 9 bags and Lilly's huge sky kennel since we moved out of our apartment on March 29. Everywhere we stay has to be a suite or apartment just to fit all of our baggage. The bellhops want to run when they see us coming. What really cracks me up is that everyone thinks Mark and I are just on vacation. What kind of crazy people travel with 9 huge bags and a dog on vacation? They must think we are the most high maintenance travelers ever.

For all of the things we couldn't bring with us to Paris, we moved to a storage unit in Birmingham. When Mark and I moved from Montgomery we downsized from a 3 bedroom house to a 815 sq ft apartment. We moved over half of our belongings into a storage unit then, I never dreamed we would be downsizing again. So now here we are moving more stuff into a storage unit. One day I will be reunited with all of my stuff and it will feel like Christmas morning! The hardest thing for Mark to part with was "his chair," I think for me it was my cast iron skillet - I'm going to have to buy one in Paris.

As I have mentioned before, I was extremely nervous about Lilly flying. I am very happy to say that everything went well for my little boo. I did cry like a baby when I had to put her on the van that would take her to the airport but somehow we managed. The day we all arrived in Paris, I was on pins and needles waiting to see my Lilly again. When we were all 3 reunited Lilly was obviously confused about what had happened but she was so happy to see us and begin exploring her new city.

Lilly experienced jet lag which I totally did not expect. I assumed (because Mark kept telling me this to make me calm down) that Lilly would sleep during the flight. For the first 3-4 days in Paris, Lilly was on a very strange eating and sleeping schedule. She would wake up at 3:00 or 4:00 am wanting to eat food which is odd for her. It finally hit me, she's jet lagged just like me.

Things are going well in Paris. I am thrilled to announce that after viewing over 10 different apartments all over the city, Mark and I are in the process of signing the lease on a flat in the 5th arrondissement near Luxembourg Gardens. Its a 4th floor walk up with no lift in an ancient building which will be a huge adjustment, but it is absolutely adorable. And yes, it is a 2 bedroom! I'll post pictures once we get settled.

Lilly and I have managed to get over the jet lag and begin exploring during the day. Lilly especially loves our long walks by the Seine. She has actually taken to demanding walks which is a new thing. She will stare me down and jump on the door until I get the message. Silly girl!

My next post will be all about saying goodbye to DC.

C'est la vie, y'all! Thanks for reading and for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Fart Like a Man (Part 2)

Fight like a girl, fart like a man! Part two of my blog all about my sister Shea.

On the morning of Shea's surgery the waiting room was packed with families waiting on news that their individual family member had made it through a successful surgery.

If I am being honest, I was terrified about Shea having surgery, I knew how serious everything was and how long the recovery would take. I love my big sister and the thought of losing her is unbearable.

We knew the surgery could take anywhere from 5 to 13 hours, so I went to Kroger the night before and packed a bit of a picnic (Mark accused me of buying half the store). All morning, our family was eagerly watching the clock because we knew the more time that passed the further the surgery was going.

I will never forget what it felt like when we were called into a small room to speak with the surgeon. He told us regrettably there was nothing they could do at the moment and that the cancer was too advanced. I had prepared myself for so many things, but there is no way to prepare yourself for that.

Over the next 5-6 hours I proceeded to bite my lip, zone out all noise with headphones, and not let anyone touch me, including Mark. I knew if someone touched me or even talked to me about what happened in the room with the surgeon, I would start to cry uncontrollably and in my mind crying at the hospital wasn't an option.

Luckily I was able to see Shea  within a few hours, which lifted my spirits. I know I have said it so many times but Shea has the best attitude of anyone I know. In the face of a huge obstacle, she never goes negative, she only asks "what's next." I LOVE that about her!!

So now for the funny stuff!! Shea is completely crazy on morphine. I am not kidding. The girl acts like a totally different person on major pain killers. She absolutely will not sleep. The medicine makes her itch like crazy - which she calls itchititus - and she turns into a bit of a bossy neat freak. It's funny in hindsight, but boy is it a lot of work in the moment.

A few weeks before Shea's surgery, Todd and I started planning our hospital schedule. He would spend the first two nights with Shea and then I would spend the next two so Todd could get some rest and Shea and I could have our usual sister slumber party.

Lucky for Todd, his first two nights with Shea, she still had her catheter so I believe he got a little more rest than me. However, I do know she had Todd cleaning her hospital room in the middle of the night. That was not a game I was willing to play. Ahhh the beautiful difference in a husband/wife relationship and that of sisters. I will happily tell Shea no if she asks me to clean at 2:00 am. (OR MARK NO IF HE ASKS ME TO CLEAN ANYTIME)

I knew I was in for an adventure when Shea would close her eyes during the day for all of 2 minutes and think she had taken a 30 minute nap. She would fall asleep doing anything...drinking water, putting on lotion, adjusting a bed sheet...and when she opened her eyes a few moments later she said she was well rested - yeah right! Narcolepsy anyone??

I spent two nights with Shea in the hospital, and they couldn't have been more different. My first night with Shea, I think we got a total of 30 minutes of consecutive sleep. Between Shea repeatedly applying lotion to soothe her itching skin, our middle of the night walks to ward off blood clots, breathing treatments and the constant flow of nurses, techs and surgeons coming in and out of her room every few minutes, we barely got any rest.

As a person that doesn't function well with a lack of sleep, you can only imagine how nice I was when a tech came in to take Shea's blood at 4:30 am. My exact words were "you CAN'T be serious!"

Around 8:00 am the doctors had already made their rounds so we could finally rest. Shea wasn't having any of that. She announced to me that she was ready to get dressed for the day. I quickly asked for 5 more minutes to close my eyes. Well Shea gave me 2 minutes and then decided to get out of bed on her own. I was up from then on. Time to clean the room and get Shea looking fabulous!

Needless to say, with a distinct lack of sleep, some funny things happened. Like when I almost choked Shea with her oxygen cord. I was looking for the TV remote, and what can I say, there were a lot of chords in that room.

And as I mentioned, Shea was like a little kid on Christmas Eve, she DID NOT want to sleep. She liked to go on walks around 2:30 am and had me turning cranberry juice into slushees for her to eat around 4:00 am. On my first night in the hospital, she looked at me around 11:30 pm  and told me she wanted us to stay up all night talking. (Sounds like fun!) She then proceeded to tell me that she wanted me to do all of the talking. Let's be honest, I love to talk, but I can only carry a one-sided conversation so far.

I titled this post, fart like a man, so I should probably get to the point. As most people experience when they have surgery, you wake up thirsty and later just want to eat some food. I would imagine that's usually one of the first questions any patient asks their doctor - following the all important question of when can I get out of here.

Shea's doctors said she couldn't eat anything until she passed gas - well to be more accurate - farted. Who knew doctors didn't use a more technical term? I was with Shea a couple of times when the doctors would visit, and it always cracked me up when they would repeatedly ask if she had farted. One particular doctor said the word fart at least 4 times very loudly on a morning visit. I'm sure I blushed.

I must confess that when Shea and I were growing up, we weren't allowed to say the word fart. In the Harden household, fart was the F-word. Just in case you were wondering, shut up was the S-word and we couldn't say dang, darn, or crap. The word fart wasn't an "allowed" word in our family until Shea started dating Todd. While watching football, Todd would yell at players he didn't think were doing a good enough job and tell them to stop "fiddle farting around," which I think means stop being stupid. Mom thought it was hilarious and from then on fart has been ok in the Harden household.

Shea was finally cleared for a clear diet on Friday afternoon. Poor thing hadn't eaten real food for 5 days. I felt guilty every time I would step out for a meal. The doctors were still waiting on her to pass a little gas, but luckily coffee was on the clear food diet.  I'm not sure how coffee is a clear liquid, but on Saturday morning that did the trick and Shea was back to eating regular food.

Needless to say, being in the hospital is never fun for anyone - well unless that's you're job. However, we managed to have some fun. Shea's friend Sarah sent glow bracelets. So on Friday night I decked Shea out in lots of glow bracelets. She had a bracelet, necklace and crown. When the nurses came to check on her during the night, they didn't even have to turn on the light to find her. Thank goodness for that because we slept so much better!

I am happy to say that Shea is recovering very well from her surgery. I was able to spend the first week with her at home which was exciting/exhausting.

To end this post I just want to say THANK YOU to all of my friends, family, coworkers, and everyone that sent messages, called, or inquired in person. I have been slow to respond, but please know your kind words, thoughts, and prayers have meant the world to me.

Please continue to pray for Shea!

Cancer sucks, c'est la vie y'all!