"What People Eat on Shipwrecks" or "Is it Allright If I Organize The Fridge?"

Well the boxes are all inside, so I guess that qualifies as me being moved in. None of these boxes have been opened or unpacked, except the few that I looked through this morning in a frantic search for my cell phone charger which came up empty, but I'm still technically moved in. Cooper has put on the slipcover, organized our pantry, and done a load of laundry. Now that's what I call a roommate.

More importantly than all of my moving in and my newfound ease with which I can get of bed in the morning, is the most wonderful way that my family members have come through for me in a moment of need. As if I didn't already know that I have the best family in the world, my mom and dad [and Anna yesterday] have driven up here not once, but three times, and have bought me a meal each night. I know this seems like something pretty typical, but for me this is phenomenal. Getting a nice meal 3 nights in a row, and having my mom and dad tote up what felt like ENDLESS heavy furniture, and having them buy me things like shower curtains and energy-saving lightbulbs, while all ON TOP of the fact that they're helping me out financially, I just can't describe my gratitude. It's the sort of thanks that I won't be able to really express until I get my mom her own garden and my dad the kind of cable where he can't even PICK which sports channel to watch first. Oh, and TIVO. That man needs a TIVO.

In addition to my parents being the best parents a girl could dream of, my aunts, uncles, and grandparents have also come through and will be helping me with money this semester. I wish, once again, that there was a way to show my gratitude to each of them besides just saying it and sending a thank you card. But I just can't explain what this has done for me. The stress over money these last months/year have been overwhelming, and I always felt like I wasn't ready to be on my own like that yet. Not to mention the incredible guilt I felt for having to quit working at Target, only to realize that without that awful place I wasn't going to be able to afford the new apartment I was so excited for. And while all that fear was teeming, God was waiting to send me blessings out of every crack in my life.

Goodness gracious, thank you. I can't say that enough.
[Mom if you read this, feel free to relay to your wondrous sisters and parents. I sent them thanks in email, but it never hurts to repeat]

I am the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.


<3gen