Life on the Outside

Well I did it, on Tuesday I pulled into the company terminal in Columbus, Ohio, made a few phone calls, scanned a little bit of paperwork, and then after my sweetie arrived, I cleaned out Marge and said my goodbyes. It was a little bittersweet, knowing I wasn't just cleaning out for a week long vacation, but for good. It was also a little relieving.

I'd adjusted to life on the road and in a truck pretty well, and will admittedly miss some aspects of being an OTR truck driver, but only a little. To be home in my own bed, in my own shower, on my own time, at a new job with a set schedule will take some getting used to, but once I'm in the zone, I just know it's gonna be awesome.

I've joked that I should build a little truck like space in a corner of the basement for me to escape to when the entirety of the house and the world gets to be overwhelming. Only half joking though. I know these first weeks back will be a challenge on so many levels, and that I'll likely find myself looking for some privacy and cramped comfort. The kind that I used to find so easily in my sleeper berth where I was able to shutter myself from the rest of the world at the end of my day.

But eventually I'll readjust to "life on the outside". I'm already looking forward to working everyday normal things into my schedule like going to the gym, spending time with my friends and family, finding and doing a hobby of some sort maybe, cooking meals and tending house hold chores.

Ugh and the chores started day one! Well day two really, when we got home from Columbus on Tuesday afternoon we relaxed, had a nice meal, relaxed a little more and crashed out early.

Yesterday, different story. We got up, showered, breakfasted and then started cleaning house. When my sweetie told me on the way home from Columbus that he wanted to get the house cleaned, organized and in order, I didn't realize he meant NOW. But we have already accomplished so much. Yesterday we tackled our kitchen.

It probably sounds funny to someone who's never been to our home to hear that we had 5 bags of trash and two full boxes of Goodwill donation items at the end of the day. But trust me, we threw out a lot of crap that we'd just left around and let pile up. No, we're not hoarders, but close enough that we couldn't believe how much space we had after we cleaned up!

Day two, today, we tackled closets, dressers, and miscellaneous drawers. 6 bags of clothes off to Goodwill, 10 bags of trash later... I'm starting to get the feeling that we sound like pigs. But trust me, most people who had been here before could come in today and not even notice a difference, because everything was out of view or just not in your face enough to take notice.

I'm exhausted already and we still have two more rooms to assassinate, the TV room and the attic. I'm pretty sure the attic will be put on hold until cooler weather permits, as it's probably 90+ up there right now. The TV room can be done in a matter of a couple hours, and will likely be done tonite or tomorrow. Once we've gotten the trash throw out, donation items hauled off, we are gonna wash down walls, mop floors and then kick back and enjoy the clean!

I go in the morning for my pre-employment physical and drug screening for the new job, which in theory I will begin training for on Tuesday. I'm getting rather excited, as is my new boss who keeps texting me to ask me how excited I am. :o)

Wish me luck!