I've moved a lot in my lifetime. A lot. I used to get asked if my family was military. We just moved. So, I do have a little experience with moving and I know what's coming. What's suprising to me is how little I am stressed about the move right now. I have never in my life been LESS annoyed about packing things up, throwing stuff out and tripping over boxes in my life. It's an odd feeling. Or I should say it's odd not to have the feeling.
With a move less than 2 weeks away I should be marginally hysterical now. Fighting with Ted over the need to save items that most rational people would have thrown out or desperately trying to find people to give some of the kids stuff to because I can't bear the thought of moving it somewhere to sit on the floor. Or maybe just trying to buy less food and supplies because I don't want to move, or know that I can't move it but still buy enough to be able to make stuff and not have to order out. I'm doing of lot of this stuff but not stressing about it.
Our last move was a killer one. But not the packing up bit. We had movers pack us. The stress in that came from getting rid of stuff they wouldn't pack (propane tank, alcohol, cleaning products) and of course the stuff we wanted to get rid of. That was a nightmare. I lucked out though and had some great friends help us out by getting stuff out. The real nightmare was the landing in a foreign country and being overwhelmed by the differences and figuring out how to do things. That and also try to raise children. Not good. Not fun.
But this move...well this move is different. For one thing, the new house is 20 minutes away. That's it. Not everything has to go into a box. I can just pick up clothes on the hanger and chuck them in the car and drive them up and hang in the closet. Done. Poof. No unpacking. We don't have enough boxes for all our books. Not worrying though because we can just take the ones we have, unpack and bring them back and reuse them. Wow. What a thought. As for learning the new neighborhood, all the major shops are the same and I know how to drive back and forth. All done.
We have friends willing to help us take car loads of stuff over a few days so we have less for the movers to do and therefore less to pay the movers. We've been packing stuff up for a month so there is a lot packed up or toys that are large enough just to be carried in a car.
So I am well on track for moving and not concerned at all.
Which is starting to scare the Hell out of me. I mean, I live my life from one disaster to another. I'm not one of those live and let live, smell the flowers, enjoy each moment because I know damn well that something is in fact, hiding around the corner just waiting for me to come close and jump out and get me. No, I'm not paranoid, just practical. As a former Girl Scout I'm just trying to be prepared. At least that's what the voices in my head tell me.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that the obligatory glitch for this mission was the actual finding of the house and that finally, for once, we will be able to get through this without most of us sitting on a box of glassware and crying.