Coming along

Sunday night my Dad and best friend headed back to Vancouver. I broke down into sobs as I watched them pull out of the driveway. Reality hit and I was really alone. I looked at Abby and cried more. Terrified by the thought that I am the only thing standing in between her and certain death.

I played with her on the floor and we had leftover pizza for dinner. I welled up every time I looked at her. She looked back at me cocking her head slightly wondering why mommy was crying. This isn't what I wanted for her.

Monday I returned the U-Haul. It was actually due back on Saturday but they were closed. Courtenay is exponentially bigger than High Level but it is still a small town. They took it back on Monday with no issue understanding why it was late. I then checked out Target for a tv stand, having no luck we headed home to wait for the Telus guy.

I ordered the deal where you get 3 years of optik tv and they give you a free 42inch smart tv. So I was really excited when the guy showed up. Unfortunately they mail you the tv, the guy didn't have one in his van. So they hooked up my internet and installed all the stuff for the tv, and will charge me for tv even though it could take up to 4 weeks for it to arrive. I suppose most people are not in that predicament. He was surprised I didn't have one. (I did manage to borrow one from someone but more on that later).

The next day was Tuesday and I had planned to follow up on a bunch of resumes I sent out in the last couple of weeks. I didn't get very far, I got a handful of different responses ranging from "thank you for following up, we haven't scheduled interviews yet", to "you should come in to the office and talk to so-and-so". I realized that I need to find Abby a daycare first. I'm thinking just half days, or a couple of days a week so I have some time to hit the streets and get to interviews etc. So I changed tactics and began to look for day cares online.

I have to find a government accredited daycare so I qualify for a subsidy from the government. There are tons in Courtenay, but after reading through the websites I learned I need to bring copies of her immunization records. I don't have that. I don't know where they are but they are not here. So I had to phone her old doctor in Maple Ridge, who will be mailing them. And I had to call Alberta health to get them sent to the public health office here.

Yesterday I felt defeated. I managed to tick a few more things off my list like setting up a hyrdo account and changing my phone number to a local one. I was so thankful for my big soaker tub and my huge spa like bathroom.

I unpacked all the bathroom stuff and put all the spa like stuff in a basket by the tub. Epsom salts, salt scrubs, anything to do with feet. I locked myself in the bathroom last night with a movie on my laptop and treated myself to some well deserved maintenance for like 2 hours. It was actually really fantastic.

Today I had planned to take Abby somewhere cool, like beach or something. Of course it is windy and raining so it was stay at home and do laundry day. I think I will light a fire in the fireplace tonight.

I started this week trying to get a good start right out of the gate. I was going to have a job and have Abby in daycare by the end of the week. That turned out to be impossible. I have now adopted a new attitude called "What can I do about it right now?" I do everything I can do now and not let myself worry or feel anxious about what is not happening or what I have no control over.

I found a couple of play groups in town I am going to check out next week. I also found some women working on setting up a Toy Library in Courtenay. I got in touch with them through facebook and put my e-mail on the list for volunteers. They have a fundraiser coming up and I thought it would be a good way to make a friend or two and get a toe into the community. I did it in High Level, I can do it here too.

The house is almost all unpacked. I found a $25 tv stand and a $10 coffee table at the Salvation Army. The tv stand is nice but the coffee table is pretty banged up. It looks good from this angle but the top looks like someone dragged it behind their car. I plan to spray paint it flat black.

Abby is loving her new house. I keep all the doors closed except for hers and she has taken to playing in her closet. There is a lot of room for her to run around. I designated the bottom row on the book shelf for her and yesterday she brought her chair over, lay a blanket over her knees and settled down to read a book. 

I have plans to make curtains for the living room and dining room. Also the closets all need proper rails in them. They have these weird trailer tracks in them that require hangers to face the wrong way and my mild OCD has problems with this. Those things will wait until I have some money coming in. I also have big plans for the den which will be a guest room / sewing room. It is going to be a while before I have the resources for that project, but I'm still kind of excited about it. I feel very at home already. I can't believe it's been less than a week. This house seems to hug me, there is a good vibe here.