Is it April Yet?

Many people ask the same question about Friday.  I've said it many times, particularly when Monday is a rotten day.  I ask it of April because January has been so very unpleasant so far.  In April I will be hitting the road, heading west in search of adventure.  So April is my Friday.  I can't friggin' wait.


I've been running pell mell since the fire, obtaining all my various wallet items - driver's license, health card, debit cards, and the numerous points cards.  I think I'm gonna let them go.  My wallet was too heavy anyway.  I've had to replace so much stuff just to set up house for a few months.  Much of it came from the dollar store and Walmart, but even that part alone is very draining. I've been buying things with my trip in mind, so things I can either leave behind or take with me.  I don't want to buy anything I will have to store in April. I'm hoping there will just be one or two boxes so it's not a huge imposition for anyone to keep them for me. 


Stormy is another matter.  I really like him.  I have enjoyed hanging out with Stormy for almost 5 years, since he was just a wee kitten. And then I risked life and limb to save him from the fire after the explosion sent him running scared under my bed. How can I leave him behind for a year while I travel? Will he miss me? Probably not is my guess. As long as someone keeps the food and water coming and a clean litterbox, I don't think he really cares who does it.

I've also been processing items I was able to recover from the fire.   The clothing was no real chore, just rinse off the charcoal bits and dry.  I'll take them to the laundrymat for a good wash and they'll be just fine.  The solid items were a bit more work, rinsing, scrubbing, and scraping fire mess off them.  Some weathered the fire quite well.  Others, not so much.  The paper and photos were the worst chore. There was so much and I only had a few places to hang things, so ended up putting up temporary clothelines to hang it all from. Some of it I will just photocopy and ditch the crinkled smokey original, but others I'll keep and store in ziplock bags. I have to make sure they are absolutely dry before doing that.  it was not an easy chore, sifting through such a soggy mess, seeing what has been ruined.


Now I have a dirty storage unit at U-Haul to clean up.  I had stored everything rescued from the fire in there and brought so much at home at a time, as I didn't have enough room to deal with it all at once, and I didn't want bags of smokey stuff sitting around in my apartment. I only brought home what I thought I could process that day.


I have to replace my passport too.  Dammit. That one is a bigger chore, but totally worth the investment of time if I am to cross the borders.  At least I live in a city with a passport office, as there are none in the three northern territories.  I was hoping to wait a few days until the bags under my eyes were gone before going for my new passport photos.


The insurance claim has been the real albatross here.  I ended up with 39 pages of items for which I had to supply information for - date purchased, where purchased, purchase price, current replacement cost, and where replaced. Easy for some items, impossible for so many others.  I owned quite a bit of original one of a kind items.  How do you ask for replacement cost on those if they cannot be replaced?  In any event, the claim is hopefully complete and they don't come back asking for yet more information.  My brain can't handle it right now.  Again the investment of time is very much worth it, the issue was whether or not I had the stamina to finish it all.  It was rather emotionally draining, listing everything I've lost. 


I think the biggest challenge for me has been that I live alone.  I don't have a husband to turn to when I can't finish something, or would like a little help (not that I did when I was married, but you get the point), or just a simple hug to tell me it's going to be okay and we'll get through it.  There are times when I really miss being part of a couple/family.  It can be very lonely.  At 2am when I can't sleep because the images of the fire keep me awake, it sure would help to have someone other than Stormy next to me for comfort.  Stormy is a great help, but he doesn't give good hugs...


Is it April yet?