Grandma let us in and frantically tried to give us drinks. She always does this when we come over, like the trip from the "big city" is actually a desert voyage. Since I was used to this behavior though, it didn't bother me.
We sat down for a lunch o
f sandwiches and potato salad. I was secretly grossed out because of the deviled eggs, which I both hate because of flavor and smell. Mom, grandma, grandpa and I all made our sandwiches by passing around the meats and cheese and vegetables in a haphazard disorganized way that befits me.
Finally when everyone got their plates made, I got to tell my grandparents about my big move. They were excited for me.
Grandpa: "You'll love living on your own. Honey-babe," (that's what he calls my grandma), "why don't we give our granddaughter here some tupperware. Kids need tupperware these days!"
I really don't know why I
need tupperware so desperately, but it was still a nice gesture.
After a few hours, my aunt also joined us. She was hungover and cranky. Apparently, she had too many margaritas the night before. Pitchers and pitchers, she had said. I tend to believe she did. She looked trashed.
Mom and I, who are usually left out of the loop concerning things going on with grandma and grandpa, or my aunt, (for instance, they all leave for trips without our knowledge...) also found out that my aunt was having a bit of a midlife crisis. She'd bought a white Solara convertible.
It looks like this:
She also informed us of her purchase after telling us again and again how she had no money, and couldn't even afford to buy her son McDonalds. Its like a $25,000 car. She really makes me shake my head in wonder.
After my aunt left, mom and I opted to leave too. Grandma assured me that the next time I came out she would teach me how to sew. I smiled pleasantly, but I know she will just forget.
Mom and I drove to my dad's where I picked up my car and drove myself back to her house. There, I found out that my mom's boyfriend was over at the studio.
Excited by this, I took the dog with me to see what Adam was up to. He seemed surprised to see me, but I went straight to work, helping him sort through boxes. He had set up a table for Goodwill. Honestly, I think the table is going to turn into the "keep" pile. There is just so much stuff we don't use.
I found a massive desk in there that for whatever was bought, put to use for a short time, then deconstructed. Adam said my mom thought it was too dark. It was a casualty that needed to go. There is also a dog-hair covered futon that is the resting place of almost ten boxes of old books.
I went and checked out the appliances, and the dishwasher is so old it has a knob that you turn to "On." I think it is both cool, and archaic. Its like finding the old television in my dad's parents' basement that has a built in antennae and three knobs to find channels 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, and 30. I feel both the dishwasher and t.v. would be better suited in a museum. One of those museums that is shiny and new looking, with all kinds of antiques in it, like a fridge from the fifties, the first Ford car, and a flapper dress.
Anyways, Adam said it might need to be replaced because he isn't sure it works. In one respect, a washer that works is a big thumbs up. In another, my kitchen is not going to match at all. It'll turn into a mishmash of old yellow appliances and sparkling new ones. Like the white microwave that can make an eight inch pizza because its round.
I tried going through more stuff than just the two boxes I covered, but mom beckoned both Adam and I to help her with the groceries.
That's when we set up a time table for when things need to be done. Theoretically, I will be able to make payments on my new living quarters starting in October. So if everything is done by then, it will be great. That simply means that we have to arrange our piles accordingly; those piles being keep, Goodwill, or trash, then follow through on the few fixes it needs.
Those fixes include a new thermostat, fixing a post or two on the deck because of wood rot, replace a couple of vent covers and light flippy things, and maybe get a newer dishwasher. And we have to clean the fridge. And make sure the stove works. And then when we move out the stuff that is already in there, I am going to want to paint it, (I am thinking BLUE). Then we will have to actually move me in. But it is just the very end of July, beginning of August. I think that is a workable time table.
Adam seems to agree. He thought I was going to ask to be moved in before school starts. I told him I wasn't crazy.
All in all, I am hesitantly happy to start on this new project in my life. Honestly, it seems a lot less scary than starting college was. What seems a lot scarier than moving out, though, is telling my dad that I am.
I got a few months though. I think he can wait.
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