Just a Little Further ...

So I feel a little better. 

Not ... "Wow! I'm getting this done!" better.  But ... "In the end, maybe this will be alright." better.

I spent part of the evening yesterday with College One.  She met me at the house and we filled her car with tubs full of books, big baskets for her and her sister, and a dozen other other odd items.  After we filled her car, she helped me carry all the electronics down.  We filled my backseat to the roof with old DVD players and VCRs and speakers.

But that isn't what made me feel better ...

What made me feel better about it all was her expression when we walked upstairs.  She looked around and said something like, "Wow!  It's so CLEAN up here!  You've done SO much work!"  She's the first person who has seen the upstairs since I started really throwing everything out. 

See ... last week, Stoney was with me almost every night.  He helped me each night after work ... until he hurt his knee moving the heaviest stuff downstairs for me.  We've ordered a knee brace for him ... and hopefully nothing is permanently damaged.  But since he's been hurt, it's just been me ... sorting and bagging ... cleaning and pitching.

So to hear someone else say that I've done a lot ... that helps.

I called this morning to have the sanitation company come get their dumpster ... and I can say that I have a plan.   I have a list of things that need done ... and I am ready to start calling contractors and handymen to do odd jobs.  College One is coming back in a couple weeks to go through a few more things with me ... and her mom is coming to get a bed frame at some point.

While I schedule carpet cleaners and plumbers, there's still lots for me to do.  I can work on cleaning out the fridge and scrubbing the floors.  There is still several things I need to take to Stoney's ... and I'll do that in the next week or two as well.  My new goal is the end of February.  It will take a lot of work, but I think it's do-able ...

In the meantime, I'm going to have to start being a little more careful with myself.  I can't keep pushing so hard.  I went to the recycling center and dropped all the electronics off.  Good news, right?  Except that I had to carry it all in myself.  For liability reasons, the employees can't help you bring anything onto the property.  So I carried a couple hundred pounds of electronics ... one arm full at a time.

I'm proud that I got it done ... but I think I broke a cyst in my right kidney.  When I picked up the last item in the backseat (a large, heavy sub-woofer) I felt a sharp pain on my right side.  There's blood in my urine again ... so I'm going to have to take it easy this weekend.   I've got to be careful ... if I get a kidney infection, I'll really miss my February deadline.

Baby steps, people ... it's all about baby steps.