Accommodations

It dawned on me just a week before radiation that I needed a place to stay. The local cancer place has a waiting list and it’s at limited capacity thanks to COVID. One option was to hold out hope and rent a place week by week. Depending on that gamble, I could be looking at a couple hundred dollars or a couple thousand. Airbnb places ranged from the $40s to $100s. Some of the lower-end places looked a little sketchy, and I don’t want to move from place to place for 5 weeks. I plan on brining a monitor and setting up camp for work, and that’s a pain in the ass. Not to mention I would hate living week to week like that – it’d stress me out.

Hotels really are not an option at hundreds of dollars per night (and that’s without a kitchen). There were some extended stay places that have Airbnb prices without any quality whatsoever.

I managed to find a furnished apartment with a short-term lease (starting April 8th). There are few amenities to speak of (other than “gathering spaces”), but it’s a bright spot overlooking the Zumbro River, only a few blocks from where I’ll be treated. It’s got a nice kitchen, too.

I already have some meal plans going…Josh is a much better cook than I am so he usually makes the meals around here. I don’t want to order too many groceries for the first week since I’m moving, so I’m trying to limit what I order that week. My Nespresso machine is DEFINITELY coming with me; I am obsessed.

And the packing list. The endless packing list…I’m trying to keep it to needs only. I don’t want to have to lug a bunch of stuff around. I do plan to drive back and forth on weekends to see the kids. There’s laundry in the apartment, so I’ll just wash stuff there.

Now, I’m in planner-mode. Lists galore. Plotting out schedules. Getting the things done.