Day 1 of The Great Migration

Day One

 

Pa and I awoke to a mountain of chores needin' to be done before we could leave for the Great Migration.  The boys did their chores and skedaddled to school while Pa and I sent out a smoke signal for help.  We had more chores than time, and luckily some good hearted neighbors came to help. 

Halfway through the mornin', disaster struck.  Pa discovered that we were short in the covered wagon department and we had to scramble to round up 'nother one.  He said we would have to choose between the cast iron cooking pot and the extra woolen blankets.  Thankfully, we found a local merchant willing to loan us wagon...though just for the journey west.

It was a mad scramble to get the homestead cleaned up and the wagons packed, but we did it.  The boys were sad to say goodbye to their teacher and townsfolk, as was I, but I heard there was quite a barn-burner in our absence. 

The trail was snowy, rainy and cold but we made it to Albert Lea in one piece and without havin' to replace an ox or wagon wheel.  The boys and Pa gathered supplies while I prepared dinner and we all hit the hay early.  I forget how lumpy and cold the ground can be in these parts....missed my bed somethin' fierce, but I know warmer ground is in our future.

Best Friends

Can I just go on record as saying I have THE BEST FRIENDS EVER??

In order to properly describe my appreciation for these people, I must preface all of this with some familial history:

For those of you who don't know...I do not have a very good (or, really ANY) relationship with my parents.  Both my mom and dad have issues that has made it impossible for me to have a relationship with them. 

Now, don't get me wrong....family is BEYOND important to me.  I have tried everything short of duct taping myself to their leg to have a close relationship with them.  Unfortunately, they both seem to have been infected with some sort of disease that does not allow you to give a shit about your daughter or grand kids and focus only on themselves. 

Harsh...yes, I know.  But the truth.

So all of this has made me a tad apprehensive about getting myself, and my kids, involved in any kind of a relationship outside of our immediate family.  I mean, really....if you can't trust your own MOTHER AND FATHER to care about you and your kids, how could you trust "just a friend" to care?

So along comes Joan and Carrie.  I met both of them at a parent committee meeting in Prescott.  They showed me the finer drinking establishments in Prescott...I baked them cakes.  We bonded.  So when we decided to move, guess who showed up to help?  Certainly not my parents, but Joan and Carrie.  They have cleaned my house, watched my kids, sold my junk at a garage sale.....they have listened to my worry, harassed me until I laughed and told me over and over that they appreciate me....just by being sad that we are leaving.  They would be the first to say that TO THEM this is no big deal, but to ME it has meant the world.

I have said many times that I don't know what I have done to deserve my kids...they are such a gift to me.  I now can add Joan and Carrie to that list because, really, they are such a huge blessing to us.