Got Benzos?

All I really want to do is just lie motionless and wait for things to get done or not get done.  I may be overwhelmed, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job of keeping a lid on it.  Joe was offered the job in Arizona and has accepted it.  Wonderful!  It's great to have employment, etc.  But his first day of work is July 16th.  So he's leaving July 14th.  So I gotta handle all the stuff here.  OH MY GOD.  Yeah, writing this out is actually taking me to the place of "oh this is really happening."  Heart rate is increasing and brain is swirling.  Here we go.

After he leaves, I'll be alone with Maddie for about a week, trying to complete whatever needs to be done.  Since we haven't used the one move that the Army pays for, we're cashing in on it now.  Although, they will only pay for what it would cost to move back to Missouri (our "home of record"), so we'll be paying the difference to Arizona.  What is the difference?  They couldn't tell us.  When will we get the bill?  Up to a year or two after the fact?  Yeah.  Nothing like a surprise bill that you have no idea the amount of looming over you.  Sounds kind of like....the Mexico bill?  Sure does.  But a do-it-yourself move is just not in the cards.

With that said, the movers will be here packing the 23rd-24th.  Thankfully, Joe's mom will arrive on the 22nd, so I'll have someone to help me with Maddie while I'm overseeing operations, cleaning etc.  After they leave on the 24th, my ass will be cleaning and touching up anything left over.  Then, the next day (25th), though I still need to schedule these things (tomorrow AM), I will have the carpets cleaned, followed by a flea and tick treatment (have to per lease because we have dogs...even though they are on preventative meds and have no issues...grr), followed by check out.  I still need to figure out when to have ol' Larry come mow...maybe the evening of the 24th?  Meh.  So anyway, after check out, I need to scoop up Maddie and her stuff and head to the ATL airport, as we are catching an evening flight to Tuscon.  Lord, let her sleep and not be crazy.  I am nervous to fly anyway...always feel like I'll forget something, have the wrong ID, etc.  Add a baby to that, and my neuroses will be through the roof.  After a stop in Phoenix, we will get to Tuscon at around 11:30PM and then an hour drive to where we'll be living.  Gonna be a late one.  That next day (26th) is a Thursday, and I'll be there all day to get Maddie acclimated to Joe's family and her new surroundings.  I'll then fly out early on Friday (27th) at 7AM to come back to GA.  My flight arrives at 4PM, and I'll hit the road back here to pick up the dogs (who will have been boarded all week) and gather up the rest of my bags (wherever I've left them..neighbor's house?) and hit the road BACK TO Arizona.  I plan to get to my sister's house in MS that night.  Lubbock, TX on Saturday (28th) and our new home on Sunday night (29th).  Saturday and Sunday will both be long...10-11hr-days of driving....especially with the two idiots.  That's why we've opted to fly Maddie out ahead of time.  She would lose her shit long before three days on the road, and since I'm dropping her off right before a weekend, she'll be able to spend most of her time that I'm not around with her dad.  Yes.  There's a method to all of this madness.  Everything really needs to work out pretty f'ing perfectly.  At the very least, I have to be in AZ by Tuesday the 31st, or I'll miss Maddie's first birthday.  I really can't think of anything more soul-crushing than that.  It's just going to be an absolutely grueling week leading up to that.  Praying for no mental/emotional break downs (or at least none that inhibit my driving abilities).  And please, none of the automotive variety either. 

So until everything starts really going crazy, I don't know what to do with myself, except just schedule everything.  Plane tickets are purchased, and tomorrow I'll schedule all the necessary appts....dog boarding, carpet cleaning, pest control, final lawn mowing (cuz I won't have time), and check out with prop mgmt  I can't really pack a whole lot now since the movers have to inventory everything.  And I can't start cleaning until everything is packed.  It's really weird.  Joe's not himself either.  He doesn't know what to do not being at work and entering a new job as a civilian is a little scary for him.  He's on his own, no longer part of an elite unit.  I can imagine it is strange for him, and I hope he likes his new job.  He'd better like it, as the move is going to shorten my life by a few years; I'm certain of it.  Oh, and in the middle of all that I gotta wean Maddie off breast milk and get my boobs to dry up.  Fun.  And since it'll be her first birthday, I'll have to immediately find a doctor in AZ so she can stay UTD on her shots.  Alrighty.

Speaking of Joe's unit...this may be an opportunity to end on a humorous note.  At his last jump (out of a plane) a few weeks ago, Maddie and I were out there to watch him.  I was waiting, and it almost seemed like they were done.  But alas, no Joe yet.  I asked a dude out there if there were going to be any more passes (of planes with guys jumping).  He said there would be because his guys had yet to jump.  I asked him who his guys were, and he told me they were the K-9 handlers.  I acknowledged this with an "Ah" and a nod, and after he asked, told him what company Joe was in.  Then after a few seconds he said, in that subtly smug way, that his guys were the ones who worked with the dogs.  To this, I looked at him, smiled and said "I figured that's what you meant when you said 'K-9 handlers'."  He just kind of gave an embarrassed smile.  It's a testament to how far I've come as a military wife.  I was scared as hell when we first got here, but now I'm a little less afraid.  What a time it's been!  Now on to the next thing!