Moving

Moving is one of those things that no matter how meticulous and careful the preparations may be, the day of is still a madhouse. 

The closing date was moved several times.  We were the third (maybe even fourth) domino in a line of selling and buying homes so each time a date got moved to accommodate underwriting and such, we adjusted accordingly.  First it was early December.  Then mid.  Then late.  Then New Years. And then with a week before Christmas, they called and asked if we could do Friday.  Since we had already made plans to be elsewhere for Christmas and since I had been slowly packing since Thanksgiving, we agreed and got to work.  The piles of boxes climbed higher and the girls spent most of their time watching movies or making box forts as I packed.  Friday arrived and we drove north where we had arranged to meet to sign closing papers (and drop the girls off to my mom for the weekend).  As we walked into the building, Husband pointed out this was our last chance to change our minds.  Surprisingly, because it’s usually me that makes that kind of obnoxious and indecisive comments. But we sat down and started signing with no second thoughts.  It seems that since we first made the decision to list the house for sale, we have been simply putting one step in front of another, accepting that this path will better lead us to where we really want.  So we signed the house away, ran some errands, got some dinner and spent the evening packing and loading stuff for our semi-complicated move.  Those loads went to my in-laws house, where we will be staying for a few months while our new home is being build.  We worked until 2 am when we finally called it quits for the night.

The next day, we had a quick breakfast of whatever leftovers we could find in the fridge and dove back into it.  Friends from the ward and neighborhood arrived around ten o’clock and it became a blur of stuff.  I continued packing as fast as I could, losing my neurotic efficiency and detailed note keeping, while husband directed traffic.  Eventually we had two trucks and trailers overflowing with stuff so we headed to the storage unit.  We had requested a 40 foot unit, but settled for a 25 foot when that was the only one available.  Husband and I had already done some preliminary work, including assembling shelves so our stuff was quickly transferred from trailers to storage, pizza was devoured and we returned home for another load.  Unfortunately, the unit was full.  So the next load of stuff went to a friend’s house to be stored in their basement.  After that, we thanked our friends and stepped back to survey the unfinished mess.  Again, we grabbed some dinner and spent the evening, sorting, packing and taking a load to our new (temporary) home at my in-laws again.  We unpacked and organized there, sadly acknowledging the move.  But my sweet husband (as we finished around 1 am) decided there was no reason we couldn't have one last night.  So we grabbed some mats and blankets and spent one more night in front of the fireplace in our old home.  

Sunday morning started busy again.  Husband and I visited the storage unit and repacked half of it, creating more space by organizing the haphazard mess.  We took a break for lunch and church, after which, many friends from the ward came over again to help us finish moving the last of our things to our friend’s basement.  Soon we were done; we took one last load to my inlaws, packed a suitcase and drove north to join our girls at my parents’ house for Christmas.

(see separate post for Christmas)

We took the girls back to our old house for a final walk through.  We gathered a few final items from the garage, rounded up our cats who had been elusively evading us during the move and went for one more blanket ride.  The beautiful hardwood floors of our generously large great room, made even bigger by the lack of furniture, are the perfect setting for this activity.  We pile the girls onto fleece blankets and then drag them around the house, sliding, skidding and squealing.  Eventually we said goodbye to the house and settled into our new rooms at grandma and grandpas.