The Big Move

The Korenak Family October 2013, in front of 9723

Last Tuesday afternoon the boys and I drove away from our cozy little home in South St. Louis and headed for the windy plains of Oklahoma. Mom had flown up Monday morning to help with last minute packing/cleaning and was driving Zach's car back for us. We pulled everything together, got everything packed that was going with us, and got the house ready for showings again. Multiple inspectors came by, making sure we were up to code (we finally are, so silly), and Zach got home from his last day of work around one. After Zach got back with the big Uhal Mom and I quickly got on the road in hopes of Rowan's sleepiness lasting for awhile.

Our plan was to drive half the way that afternoon and the rest of the way Wed. morning. Rowan's sleepiness didn't last long. He slept for maybe an hour and a half. We made more stops than I would have liked, what with a three year old bladder, but all was well until after dinner on the North side of Springfield. The last hour, to hour and a half, Rowan screamed bloody murder, inconsolable, and unreachable by me, until we got to Joplin, our final destination for the night. He of course drifted off to sleep as we approached the first exit to Joplin and woke up at the Hotel the happiest little boy ever.

Mom opted for her own room and kindly took Zane up to be her roommate. In hind sight this might have been irrational, but at the moment we couldn't run the risk of neither of us getting any sleep due to one or both boys being awake all night. The night was a huge success, with Rowan only getting up once, so I had a great nights sleep. Day two started with a power breakfast at the Waffle House, then back on the rainy road for the second half of the trip.

The second day was much more successful with Rowan sleeping, or happily cooing in his seat, all day. Maybe we should have just done it in one day, who knows. Zane continued to be a great road tripper, watching movies, signing, and commenting on our surroundings the entire trip. It rained most of the time, on and off, from drizzle to down pours. About two hours out from home, in the midst of a down pour, I said, "Dad, I get it, you're excited that I'm moving back, now cut it off." As you might remember it has rained on most of the major days since Dad died, Zane's surgery, his first birthday, my birthdays, random difficult days, the day Rowan was born (well that was snow/ice, but it counts), I take it as Dad's way of saying he is with me. So it wasn't surprising that it would rain during our big move home that Dad would have so loved. I hate that he isn't here for us to see more often. Ahh regrets....

We pulled into the farm Wednesday afternoon and Zach was only a few hours behind us with the Uhal. It's been quite the whirlwind since then. Thursday we headed to OKC for Halloween celebrations, building of the Savory Spice Kiosk Thursday night, followed by Zach's first day of work on Friday. Why did he start on a Friday I'm sure you are asking? He had to start on the first day of the month so that his insurance would start on the first of December. From what I hear day one was uneventful, mostly sitting around with lots of questions, but with it being Friday afternoon there weren't many people there to answer them. He has two windows in his cubicle, which is a big step up from his previous cube. There were issues with his "terrible keyboard" so he got a new one of those, a broken chair, his security card doesn't work, all normal first day stuff, but other than that no news from the new job. Today starts his first week so we shall see.

The boys are struggling a bit with the big change. He is having breakdowns about not being with Grandma every second of the day, even though he will be seeing her all the time now. Lots of issues remembering that all the same rules from our house apply here and all the other issues that come along with uprooting a three year old's life. Rowan is sleeping (or should I say not sleeping) terribly, up two to three times a night, which is I guess what happens when you uproot an eight month old's life. I am tired, highly stressed about our house not showing/selling, and unsure of what my next step is going to be. I miss our house and living close to things for the boys to do (library, parks, zoo, all or normal day stuff), but Zane is loving the farm, if only it wasn't so cold outside. For now we are settling in, still praying for our house to sell soon so we can actually "move in" to a home and I can try to figure out what I'm going to do with my life, also very scary.

And that was our big move from the Show Me State to the Sooner State. Thanks to everyone who have been sending us well wishes and prayers for a safe trip, they are greatly appreciated.