Last Kiddo-Free Day

It’s Thursday, and today is M and my last full day at home without the kids. The last day ever, in this home. That’s making me rather nostalgic about all of the days gone by.
we have so much to do today, packing-wise. It’s pretty much all I’m going to be doing all day. I would love to just sit around and spend the day in my pajamas alternating my time between reading and video games. Not an option, though.
We picked out flooring for the new house yesterday. M was… emotional about it. She was crying about it because it is such a big decision. I tried my best to console her, but I don’t think that it was really over the carpet and floor; I think that the stress of everything is starting to weigh on her as we get closer the our move date and the start of the new school year. I like the floors that she picked out, for what that matters.
My grand anniversary present is back in my hands. Months ago (before any of the new job/move stuff happened, I purchased her an English horn. Her primary instrument is the oboe, and in college she was the principal English horn player. It is something that she has always wanted, but they normally run between $5000-$12000 (for a good one). I managed to find a very old one in need of substantial repair very cheap on eBay. It was definitely not in working condition. But I bought it and reached out to a retired friend of M’s who is great with instrument repair. He agreed to take care of it to the best of his ability. Yesterday after my appointment to get the car’s oil changed, I stopped by his house to pick it up. I’m assuming that he did a good job, but I have no idea (I was a brass player, and can’t make a sound on any reed instrument aside from squeaks). I hope that it works. All I asked him was to make it playable.
It will be tricky keeping it hidden from her for the next few days, as the house is very quickly being boxed up.
Speaking of which, I should probably get back to it. Here is the current state of 75% of our lives: