A Bittersweet Day

My oldest daughter, Corina who is 19 now has been living with her fiance and his parents for several months now, and it was definitely time for them to move out.  They finally both had good paying jobs (well good for their age in this area heh. Basically minimum wage, but they both get a ton of hours and Corina is training to be a manager.  So, they were able to save up money to rent a place, and we've been looking at places with them for a week or so. Also, her future mother in law was pretty fed up with them (well HER) being there so long.  A house only has room for one alpha female LOL.  Corina is very much an outgoing, in-your-face personality and larger than life. I know she and I were constantly yelling at each other til she moved in with them... so now I'm guessing it's the same there now heh. 

So, anyway over the weekend I called her to see how she was doing and she was in the car with Tyler on their way to see a place and were lost, so I Google mapped it and helped them get there heh.  Her dad was home that day and we had to go out anyway, so I told her we'd come see it too. It's a mobile home (or "trailer" heh) and has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. The living room and kitchen and master suite are all laminate "hardwood floors" and look really nice. (That's what I want to do to the floors here heh) The original orange carpet is still in the guest room/office. It's older than our trailer, but not nearly as old as the one we used to live in.  It's actually rather nice. Really good sized for the two of them, and even if they end up with a little one, there's still plenty of room for a long time. There's a dining area and a laundry room in the hallway to the backdoor.  The master suite has a HUGE tub, completely round. It's like an indoor pool LOL. 

So, today she said they got the place and were moving in. Tyler's dad helped them with the electric deposit. There was a bit of a tiff earlier this morning when she came over and asked to borrow the Explorer to move.  I said we'd drive it and come help move.  I guess that's not what Tyler wanted to hear (oh well, they're not on my car insurance). And when we got to his place to pack up the Explorer, we found out they hadn't even packed yet.  I was just wondering why they woke me up and asked to borrow the truck when they didn't need it yet, and that apparently pissed off Tyler.  He had Corina tell us to leave and she even shut the door in her dad's face. Neither of us really get along with Tyler due to various reasons, but I know she loves him and they plan to get married in November (and have been together for going on 4 years I think), so I *try* to be civil with him, but I guess today he didn't feel the same. he still won't speak directly to us. I have NO idea why. but we just never hit it off at all.  we get along fine with the other girls' boyfriends.  I think it's probably due to Corina being our first, and we seem to make our mistakes with her and are more protective of her.  Ans she's so much like me and has made SO many of the SAME mistakes I made, I tried to save her from them when I guess I needed to just let her learn on her own.  I still try to make sure she understands  how some things can impact her future, especially her credit. I hope I've made her sufficiently paranoid about getting any bad marks on it.  NO ONE ever talked to either my husband or me about credit or money AT ALL when we were young. I won't make that mistake.  My kids will be well prepared.

ANYWAY.... we stood there on the porch staring at each other and she came back out and said she was sorry but my impatience was frustrating Tyler and he was already stressed (fair enough), so she said I should go back home and sleep since they had just gotten a call from his grandma saying she was going to come help them move. (I think that was a total lie and they were waiting on his dad and would use his vehicle to haul stuff.) So we went on back home, but Rhiannon stayed with them to pack and spend some time with her sister.

I knew I'd never get back to sleep, so I started going through things I could give her.  I boxed up dishes, glasses, mugs, bowls, some silverware, utensils, a 9x13 baking dish, a pie dish, measuring cups, my old stand mixer that I don't like,  a couple of small pots, our electric skillet and the toaster/countertop oven which were both passed down to us from Christopher's grandparents (they both came in handy when our stove in the old house didn't work).  Plus I gave her the purple towels from the girls' bathroom since her color coded stuff was purple. Also some washcloths and a hand towel, some dish cloths and dish towels.   And that kitchen island I'd hunted for all over town for the perfect one and Christopher got me one as a surprise.  Well, due to the other furniture we have in there now and the plans I have to put in cabinets and countertops, we have no place for the island now, so I washed it down and emptied it and we loaded it up in the truck too. Oh and I also gave her some of the cookbooks I used when she was growing up. One of them was one my Mom gave me when I moved into my first place.

So, we called and texted and left messages that we had stuff for them, then headed on over and she replied that was great.  Got there just as Tyler and his dad were leaving which was cool with me LOL. So we unloaded and took the stuff in and I helped her put things away.  She had the perfect spot for the island all picked out. Since they don't have a microwave, she was glad to get the toaster/oven, and since the only pots/pans she has are the small ones I gave her, so the electric skillet will come in handy.  I plan on getting her a good stainless steel big deep skillet (we call it a chicken fryer here). That one pan changed my life lol.  I'd like to get here a heavy stainless steel pot big enough to do rice and noodles etc in. I have one I love and we use it for a ton of things. And of course a big stock pot. Really that's about all you need. Plus a good baking sheet, the baking dishes, and maybe a small nonstick skillet for eggs. The electric skillet will work for a variety of things for a while at least.

They'd gotten the air conditioner working (apparently it was messed up when they started moving in and it was a hot muggy day).  She was picky about the door being open and non-used rooms doors shut haha.  Maybe she'll think back on all those times I fussed about our electric bill. I think our bill will go down quite a bit as each child moves out haha.

She looked tired, but seemed really proud of her new place and we were really proud of her. It's a nice place, and I'm kind of envious.  It's exactly the kind of trailer I wished I'd had for years.  The laundry room, the big master suite and huge tub etc. Plus is in the country on a back road with a farm view and a huge covered front porch. She did good.  Guess now we start planning a wedding!

Oh yeah and she came back over tonight after they'd gone shopping for things they needed like a broom and dustpan and detergent heh.. and they got her cat Aja and the kitten Grunt. I'm still missing the kitten. He always came to curl up on my lap this time each night and he made the cutest little noises. I'll just have to go visit him.  I miss Aja too, but I always knew some day she'd leave and go with Corina eventually, she's her cat. She's been really clingy lately though, like she knew something was up. Hope she'll adjust ok. At least the momma and baby have each other.

Comments

  1. That must be bitter sweet indeed! So nice of you to give her things to help her feel more established.

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  2. Yeah it was nice, and today she came over and asked if there was anything else I wanted to give her. When I went to look for curtains, she said, "I kind of meant... food." They were counting on her tips for grocery money but she only got $20 in tips. So, though I didn't have the kind of stocked pantry I should have had (and used to have), I did find a few cans of veggies, pasta, cream soups, a bottle of ketchup, etc. She told me what they'd bought, and I told her about the discount stores I shop at and how she can get ground turkey for $1.29 a pound instead of the $3 for ground beef. And which store had the best deal on frozen chicken etc. They may just have to live with meatless meals for a while. I'm going to try to buy a little extra each week when we get back on track, then take over a bag or two of stuff to her place.

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  3. The whole thing was kind of surreal because I remember SO MANY times we'd go to Christopher's parents' house for family dinner night each week and raid her pantry and freezer to supplement our tiny grocery budget. And now here my oldest is doing the same thing. To be honest though, they're a lot better off than we were when we started off and we had a kid too.

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I love getting comments, and I read every one. Thanks for coming by my site and reading my ramblings. I hope you have a wonderful day! -Patty