Today

It's snowy here, so it seems like a good day to bring back the blog.  What a weird winter, heh?

Today is kind of a big day for the Mezger's.  It's not as big a day as it will be two months from today, but it's still a pretty big day.  Doug has been the Store Director at the Denison Hy-Vee for ten months.  Today.  WHICH MEANS that I've officially been in Denison with him for six months.  Today.  I remember that day. 

It was a Wednesday.  Doug had the day off.  It had been a good Wednesday at school, which makes me think that Becky had probably been at Brookview that day, or Tara and I had a giggle fit during lunch about something that no one else understood, or Traci and I witnessed some crazy third graders dancing with the tetherball poles while on recess duty, or ultimately ALL OF THOSE THINGS happened on that day.  Possible.  But unlikely.  Because, as I said, it was a good day, not a SPECTACULAR day.  So anyway, I stopped by the mall to pick up some seersucker outfits I had been eyeing during my planning time over the past week for the twins for Easter.  Finding THE PERFECT seersucker blazer for J and THE PERFECT seersucker vest for R and the most incredible little baby jeans and white button down shirts to complete the ensemble, I set out from Crazy 8 for a quick browse at Fossil.  "Why not!?  It's basically payday.  I mean, it's less than two weeks away.  I'll just see what they have..."  But somewhere between Crazy 8 and Fossil, somewhere around Hollister and that little Iowa State lounge-y area the familiar scream of "MY LIFE...WOULD SUCK...WITHOUT YOU" came blaring from my purse.  Seeing Doug's face, I answered...

"Hey, honey.  What's up?"

"Marsha, Where are you?"

"At the mall.  Where are you?" I asked with a wink.

"They gave me Denison."

"Doug, I told you to stop playing games with me about being transferred."  We had been playing this "I might get transferred" game for over a year by this point and I was OVER the endless talk and anticipation .

"No Marsha, I'm serious.  I just got off the phone with Ms. Western Half of Hy-Vee.  They picked me for Denison."  I started shaking. 

"Umm, okay.  When do you start?" I thought Monday seemed quick, but fair.

"They want me there tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?  Tomorrow.  You're KIDDING me?  What about Ankeny?  I mean, don't you need to go say goodbye and pack your stuff?  Don't we need to find you a place to live?  How are we going to do this by TOMORROW?"

"I'm going to go to Ankeny in the morning to tie up the loose ends there.  I'll go to Denison when I'm done.  They want me there by noon.  I'll have to stay in a hotel."

"So tonight's the last night for you to be home with the boys and Lucy and I?"

"Well, I'll be home to visit, but yeah, I guess so."  The weight of this realization hits us both at this point. 

"Okay.  Do you need white shirts?"  This is how my mind works in times of great stress... The shock and stress of all of this will subside as soon as I pick up some white shirts. Totally, typically Marsha.

"Yes."

"Okay.  I'll go get some shirts and be right home."

The next morning Doug left the house at 5 a.m. armed with his essentials, including three crisp new white shirts, packed in his Hy-Vee duffle bag (What other kind of bag did you think he would use???) and set out for the Denison Hy-Vee by way of the Ankeny Hy-Vee.

The name of the game for the four months of "Doug in Denison, Marsha in West Des Moines" was SURVIVE.  We truly shifted into survival mode, "Don't think, just go" mode.  Doug had this new and incredible opportunity that he needed to acclimate himself to and I had a job, a house, a pug, and precious twin boys to take care of and a move and career change to prepare for.

Between April 13 and August 13 we rode the waves of change.  I resigned my job, the boys went to live with their father, our cars memorized the two hour journey between West Des Moines and Denison, the drive-thru workers at the McDonald's at Exit 46 became my friends and we packed up our first five years worth of memories and identities and furniture and dishes and pug and brought it all to Denison to start a new chapter. 

Since getting to Denison on August 13th I've felt myself unwind.  I've learned that sometimes unwinding isn't relaxing or pretty, sometimes it's more like unraveling, in a very post traumatic sort of way.  You've seen things unwind...like a rope or a string or something?  It starts out kind of slow and gets gradually faster and faster until the momentum of the unwinding, which is really spinning, nearly reverses the direction of the motion and at last there is a violent JOLT and everything is at a standstill.  (I think that JOLT is technically known as inertia.  How about that!?!  My life is a physics lesson!)  That's where I am, the JOLT.  It's an interesting place to be, the JOLT.  I try to see past the whiplash and into the joy everyday but somedays the JOLT gets the best of me.  Even still, I try not to judge my emotions and do my best to give thanks because this is a new place with new experiences and no one ever said new places and new experiences would be easy.

Fine Dining

There aren't so many restaurants in Denison.  Rather, we have Church Dinners; rolled silverware, real plates and glassware, placemats with the local funeral home's logo across the top, Church Dinners.  Doug and I were gifted tickets, a value of $9.50 per person, to the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Fundraising Dinner featuring "roasted pork loin and all the trimmings."  I've never seen so many pies and pitchers full of instant iced tea.  We arrived at the Parish Hall at about 4:45 yesterday afternoon, just beating the evening rush.  By the time we left I could barely move.  The Methodist Church's fundraising feast is October 5th, followed by the Lutheran edition the next weekend.  The competition is on.  Long live the Church Ladies and their mile high meringue!  Long live elastic waistbands.

xo

Vintage Welcome Wagon

A Lady from the Church called yesterday, via phone, to arrange a time to call, face-to-face.  She arrived shortly after one o'clock with a plate of cookies, a welcome quilt (courtesy of the Church Quilters), and a church directory.  I contemplated wearing a floral dress that coordinates with my apron for this visit but much like the lady in the Tide commercial, I'm too lazy for anything other than yoga pants.  Even still, I am fairly certain that the view north from Highway 30 over this quaint little community is crisply black and white.

xo

Mezger Hall

Life in Denison is sort of like living in a dorm.  People just stop by.  Unannounced.

• Strangers.  
• Neighbors.  
• Loyal Hy-Vee customers.  
• One of the six beautiful small children living in the seemingly small house next door with their parents AND grandparents that when we tried to say "Hi" the first day we were in the house threw up their hands and said, "NO HABLA!"  yet their grandchildren run laps around their yard saying "Hi!  What's your name?  Where are you going?  What's your favorite color?"

When the doorbell rang last night shortly after I had closed the blinds I hid in the corner of the dining room until Lucy gave me the "all clear."

This is different than WDM.  Very different.

DING DONG!

P.S. I WILL be ordering Rosetta Stone.  Refusing to communicate with me is NOT an option.  Plus, speaking Spanish is pretty much the key to this city.

XO

Definitely Denison!

The Store.

The Store Director.

The Store Director posing in front of perfectly positioned broth.

 

The house.

Crawford County Courthouse.

 

The Hartwig House.

Unsure of the significance.

Self explanatory.

Our favorite restaurant.

 

Looking forward to supporting the Marching Monarchs!

...and their football team.

 

Hoping one of these is gifted to all new residents.

The Hollywood style sign.  My FAVE!