Busy Hands and Happy Hearts

My husband says I move at a million miles per hour. I do? Maybe that's why I'm so tired. I think this last week he may have been right, but I have found that nothing beats depression and moody funks like being busy, having a project, getting things done. It's how I cope. Well, when I'm lucky it's how I cope. Other times I cope with ice cream, sad movies, and crying. Then again, maybe that's not coping?

Anyway.

Last week was hard. Sunday was my last Sunday with Dylan. Monday was my last Monday with Dylan. Tuesday was my last Tuesday with Dylan and my last night with Dylan living here. (See the pattern here?) Wednesday was torture. Thursday, my handcart pioneer stock kicked in and I got back on the trail. Pushing and pulling. And painting.

I decided to purge and repaint the boys' room to help encourage a fresh start, and to also help Aiden with his grief with a celebration of now being The Big Brother. He helped me completely empty that bedroom and walk-in closet. Huge task. He worked like a dog from early morning till 11pm, never once complaining or asking for a break. He was amazing! And he was such a joy to work with, because he sees what needs to be done--sometimes even before I do, which is a trick, let me tell you--and he just does it! He hauled furniture, tubs of toys, books, more furniture. He took pictures off the walls. He filled nail holes with putty. He sanded the filled holes. He masked the walls and trim. He painted, and painted, and painted with me (and the missionaries who came to help for 2 hours). And then, near exhaustion, he worked with me for another 2 hours putting everything back. Which included dumping every bucket and bin of toys and sorting them back into their proper homes. And can I just say, I don't know how anyone else has any Legos at all, because it seems like they're all in my house. He was such a joy, and an enormous help. I told him I couldn't have done it without him. And I wasn't just being nice. He said, "Well, some people are good at organizing, but they hate it. I'm good at it and I love it!" (You want to clone him, don't you?)

I know, I know, you want a picture. I actually have some, but I can't put them up yet. I will very soon. It looks amazing, though. We found (well, Aiden found) great new bedding for all three beds, which is what we matched the paint to. Everything is fresh and clean. And organized. Whew!

Tomorrow? Lyndsay's birthday. Lyndsay comes home from Mexico for a brief stay before leaving again on Thursday. My sister Abby and her family (squee!) come to visit on the first stop of their cross-country road trip as they get transferred from Hawaii to upstate New York.

I better get busy!