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Part One of My Journey http://balancedespitethechaos.weebly.com/blog/my-journey
Part Two of My Journey http://balancedespitethechaos.weebly.com/blog/part-two-of-my-journey    

     The start of the day went according to plan...everything went smoothly and on time.  On the road by 6:30 a.m. and on the job by 9:30 a.m.

      What we were not prepared for, was the utter disaster and state of disarray we found things in.  "The Mess" doesn't begin to describe what we found and I am really at a loss for words descriptive enough to do it justice.   

      Piles and piles of junk to sort through after we waded through it (no kidding...the basement was waist-high in junk).  So many papers, flyers, bills, mail both opened and unopened, documents ...you name it and it was there.   


      Surprise after surprise ...and not the nice variety either.

      Not to mention the normal moving requirements of packing up everything.  

     We worked away at things for the rest of the weekend.  Carting more and more junk away, opening old mail, sorting papers, cleaning, purging and more purging.  

     Sunday had been set aside for appointments, all carefully planned with not a moment to spare in between.  Organization and attention to detail was again the key.  Even when an unplanned person showed up, I was able to rework the other appointments to make it all fit.  So many details, so many nasty surprises, so much work.  I was feeling more and more overwhelmed and it finally took its toll.  In the midst of trying to keep it all in order, I collapsed.  I remember the day and the time well.  I became extremely ill all of a sudden.  To this day, I still don't know exactly what happened...but happen it did.

     In the weeks that followed, I became more will and grew weaker by the day. In addition to this, I was experiencing:

• Indescribable, excruciating headache that was getting worse.  
  
• Extreme flu-like symptoms (swollen lymph nodes, low-grade fever).  
  
• Exhaustion that made me feel like I was fighting an injection of anesthetic.
  
• All over body pain and total weakness.  
  
• Brain fog.  
  
• It felt like the worse flu I'd ever had ... times ten.  This is not an exaggeration -- I had mono as a teen and that was a walk in the park compared to what I was feeling with this.  

     With all the moves we were in the midst of, there was no time for resting. Push on through is what I'd always done and so push on through it was.  Not such a great idea.  If I'd only known then what I know now.  

   To be continued in part 4 . . . . 






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      For part one of "Our Journey"  please see here http://balancedespitethechaos.weebly.com/blog/my-journey

       I had always been a very strong A Type personality.  I THRIVED on details and I do mean thrived.  The more details I had...the better I liked it.  There were never too many, or so I thought.  I had certainly never encountered too many...but I was about to meet my match.  

        My husband's work was an hour to the east of us.

        The place where the family death occurred (hereinafter called "the mess") was three hours to the west of us.  Four hours of driving from my dh's work place to "the mess".  Packing up our own house while downsizing at the same time,  tying up loose ends at our old home while making arrangements at our new home, looking for work in the area of our new home, homeschooling three kids, working in my home-based business, my husband carrying out his duties at his stressful job and doing all of this within the time constraints set out in our real estate contract...there was certainly no shortage of things to do!

      So much to do and so little time to do it.  I was appalled and shocked at the state of "the mess".  As an organized person, I could not believe the state of disarray this had been left in....and it was our job, seemingly, to sort it out.

     Lovely.

     Piles and piles of papers to sort through.  I seriously didn't realize anyone could be that disorganized...but apparently, they can.  I hardly knew what to do first ---  pack our stuff into boxes?  Decide which stuff to take and which to leave?  Sort through the boxes of paperwork, mail, bills, flyers, receipts, documents?  Pack up "the mess" ?  Two full homes, three hours apart and both needed to be emptied within a few short weeks.

      Thriving on details is what I did best though, so I dug in and made my usual detailed plans.  A weekend at "the mess" to sort it out, pack it up and finish it up should be good. Maximum amount of work in a minimal amount of time....being organized was the key.  

•        I carefully planned and prepared ahead of time all meals we would need  

•        Suitcases for five people were packed 

•        Necessary appointments with various personnel we needed, were scheduled.

•        The van was packed and the five of us were on the road by 6:30 a.m.

      So far....so good....all is according to plan......




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     This is the story of my journey.  It is uniquely mine.  We all have our own unique journey.    

     I've always craved organization, order and balance.  

     I was a busy homeschooling mom of three children (14, 12 and 9).  My hubby was a high school teacher in a rough area of a large city.  Life was getting much too complicated for our liking...the long commute to work and back each day, the traffic, the high cost of living in our area, the numerous amounts of regulations and red tape.  My husband used to quip one needed a PhD in "garbeology" just to put out the garbage each week as it took hours to get the garbage ready just to get it to the curb.  

      Yes...life was getting much too complicated.

     With this not being the life we'd envisioned, we decided to change things up.  We wanted to live as simply as possible so decided to sell our home, pack up and move to a place where we could do just that. Living near the ocean had lots of appeal despite the fact it was 3000 kms away -- clean air, crashing waves, whales, icebergs, slower pace of life, less regulations, less red tape, less stress --- the list was endless and sounded ideal to us!

       However, even the best thought out plans can soon be turned upside down by something unexpected and this plan was no different.  It was about to become one such statistic.

        Shortly after we'd sold our home, tragedy struck.  A death in my husband's family occurred and while we knew for a short while the death would be happening, the fallout that ensued from the death was not.   Life as we knew it was about to completely change forever.

      We had to keep moving forward through our own plans,  as we had to be out of our home by a certain date.  The days and weeks that followed the death were unimaginable to me.  

      I did not realize the journey we were about to embark on..... 

      

      

     Hello....and.....welcome to ....

               Balance despite the Chaos....   

         So glad you found us! 

      Why not grab a cuppa your favourite  warm beverage and journey with my as I continue my quest to obtain balance within every aspect of my life.

      Yours, for .......finding balance despite the chaos :)