Starting Over is Scary

I have an address!

Yep, that's right! I officially have an address. I am staying at my aunt and uncle's house. This is interesting because they live in a really, really old farmhouse and all three of their kids are gone. So the interesting part is that they use a woodstove to heat the main floor because that is where they live. Upstairs are three bedrooms and a bathroom where I will be staying with no heat!! That is right, they don't turn on the furnace normally because the stove puts out enough heat for the main floor. And I thought my brother's house was cold! Sometimes I thought the Dobbins' house was cold but this is a totally different kind of cold. Lake effect is what they call it. Whatever you want to call it-brrr. So today was my mom's last day here. That makes me nervous because she knows where things are...like where I live. I am not confident that I will make it back. But I need to start at the beginning. Today both of my aunts went back to work so my mom and I unloaded my car and started settling up my room. That was a great feeling because I have essentially been living out of the car for just over 2 weeks. Long time. Then we went up to Flushing to see where my mom's family all grew up. I heard some of her hick stories and trouble that they got into when she and her sisters and brothers were younger. We also got to see my grandma and grandpa's (my mom's parents) gravesite. That was a story in itself because we have only been there when they were buried several years ago. So we were up on this hill in the cemetary kicking snow around to try to uncover where their marker was from memory. "I think we they are by this tree....No, higher up on the hill....No, maybe by this tree..." We did eventually find the marker and then remembered stories like when my cousin asked, "How did Grandma get into that box?" (she was cremated) and when the same cousin farted on a plastic chair in the middle of the priest prayer for my grandpa at the viewing and all of the kids and some of the adults trying so hard not to giggle because it was so loud and amplified by the chair. Yeah, interesting things happen when little kids experience death. My cousin was probably 4 or 5 at the time. So to end the day, my mom and I drove down to another sister's house to stay the night because her sister is going to be driving her to the airport at 4 am instead of me. No complaints here. However, my problem lies in the fact that I am not sure about getting myself back to where I am staying. To get here we took all of these little back roads that aren't necessarily on the map that I bought today. I figure if I am still wandering around after 5pm someone will be off work and able to get me some directions. As long as I don't end up back in Ohio I figure I am okay. Oh wait, it is another adventure. Don't worry I will have my name and address safety-pinned to the back of my coat in case I get lost.

posted by Erin @ 11:42 PM