Mother’s day is an interesting day for me. Both good and bad.

In the early years of our marriage, I lost three pregnancies inside a 2-year period. I could GET pregnant, but I couldn’t STAY pregnant. It was a devastating time, and unless a person has walked the ugly road of infertility and loss, one cannot truly understand the toll it takes. For a woman, it hits at the very core of identity. I am woman, I am designed to carry the next generation, and I cannot do it. I am broken. I am a failure. It is painful beyond expression.

Eventually, and with much medical intervention, at long last, on Mother’s day, I became a fulfilled Mother, and they laid my firstborn in my arms after an endless and traumatic birth.

Today, we birthed a different way. We entered our new phase of life after a long, difficult and traumatic labouring.

Today, at long last, we moved into the new building.

This morning, when I got up, the stove was still in pieces. The floor was still wet. And I was absolutely unable to face either situation. So instead, I rolled up my sleeves, grabbed the shovel, and dug in the dirt.

I was a planting MACHINE. I detest cùtting sods — worst part of any garden project — but today, I cut dozens of sod bricks. I got most of my remaining orchard plants in the ground:

• Heartnut tree
• Sour cherry shrub (x3)
• Highbush blueberry shrub (x2)
• Hazelnut shrub (x2)
• Red currant
• Black currant
• Anise Hyssop
• Chives
• Creeping thyme
• Columbine

I also removed about 9 willow trees and cleaned out/pruned 3 birch groves.

I still have to find the proper place for, and plant

• Hardy kiwi (2F1M)
• Pawpaw (3)
• Raspberries
• Peonies
• Honey locust (not sure how many have survived)

All of that kept me busy until mid afternoon. Husband spent the same time clearing trees and brush and just mess out of the canal. He had fun.

After lunch, a local friend came by. He has DIY-installed woodstoves before, several times, and had offered to help troubleshoot. He helped reassemble the pipe and then walked me through warm-weather draft dynamics. Most of my smoke-leaking problem was simply because the flue was warmer than stovebox itself and thus was not drawing properly at all. With a goodly amount of newspaper, we were not very long getting a proper blaze going

No smoke leaking, but soon, as the heat rose, the paint and pipe started to smoke off (entirely normal with a new stove/pipe). Stinky. All windows and door wide open to vent the chemical-heavy smoke.

We have fire. We have heat and cooking and hot water.

We decided to move in tonight, and not wait for tomorrow. Kiddos excitedly gathered bedding and stuffies and set up their room

We grabbed a couple of celebratory pizzas, ate for the first time in 6 months at our own actual TABLE, and then settled the kids into their new beds. They agree that said beds are very comfortable, but it took them awhile to settle down. New places are exciting.

The luxury of having a place to sit cannot be overstated. It has been six long months of Home Depot buckets and cold floors. Tonight, I have a COUCH and an actual hardcopy BOOK. These are good things.

On the very minor downside, I had to post this this morning instead of last night because the steel building has no reception and cannot catch the internet from inside.