Packing Madness

The computer room at my parent's house has exploded, and I mean EXPLODED. I can't even sleep in here because the bed is covered with so much stuff. It's packing madness and it's making me lose my mind. The piles are everywhere and they're heaping. There are piles of things I'm taking, piles of things I want to take but don't know if I will, piles of things I probably don't need to take but most likely will take anyway, and piles of things I'm not going to take (at least that's what I think right now); there are even piles of things I don't know why I'm piling. It's utter insanity.

Speaking of insanity, I went to Costco with my mom and we went a little crazy. Not surprising to anyone aware of the "Mahaffey Family Huge" phenomemon. I'm fairly certain I have enough headache and sinus medicine to start my own cartel. I do realize that it's very ridiculous that I'm packing a miniture pharmacy; but at the same time, I can't help it: I'm totally neurotic. Do I need 300 excedrine migrane pills? Probably not. Do I need 300 aleve pills? 200 midols? 200 tampons? Clariton? Advil Cold and Sinus? Nyquil? 36 razor heads? No. No. No. No. No. And, No. I'm pretty sure people get headaches in Ukraine. Can I stop the madness though? No, because really, I'm ridiculous like that. So expect to get, at some point, a rant along the lines of: did I really waste all that space on pain killers and tampons?!

I'm getting pretty excited about leaving, but it's still all rather surreal. I can't fathom what it's going to be like so it's almost like I'm not processing it. It'll be a real shock to leave, and to get there, and to stay... I don't know, it's crazy. I can't fathom what I'm about to do so instead I'm obsessing about the small things, like 200 tampons and 36 razor heads and 24 small bags of sunflower seeds and fitting my blinket because that has to go -- even though it's weird.

The good-byes are starting to mount. First it was Annie and Watson and Wacarra in Seattle. Then it was the Andersons in Hawaii. Earlier this month it was Matt and Darcy and John in New York; then it was Sarah and Steve in Spokane. And tonight, tonight it was to most of my family in San Jose: Jeff, Kathy, Audrey, Melissa, James, Steve, Lori, Morgan, Keaton, Fran, Shawn, Maria, little Jesse and Christian. Tonight I just felt so blessed to have such a huge family who loves me and supports me in so many ways. Though good-byes still loom, I'm trying to prepare for them. It'll be hard to say good-bye to my grandparents, all four of them who I'm blessed to know and have. It'll be hard to say good-bye to Lori, who I have come to know in such a real and meaningful way. It'll be hard to say good-bye to Josh, my old buddy who always makes me laugh. And of course, there are my parents and Jason; how I do love them, and how I will miss them.

But thankfully, I still have a few days before I have to think about that... kind of.