There was a song I learned at summer camp when I was young. I think it's called "Stay on the Sunny Side". The refrain went something like this:
Stay on the Sunny Side,I think it's a song about denial. Or promotion of anti-depressants. I find myself humming that tune as I stumble through the pseudo-organized chaos that is moving. Maybe it's calming me down. Maybe it's a sign that I've completely lost my marbles. Either way, here's an update on how our move went!
Always on the Sunny Side!
Stay on the Sunny Side of Life!
You'll feel no pain
As they drive you insane,
If you stay on the Sunny Side of Life!
Firstly, the packing.
I think I already made it abundantly clear how much my body and psyche do not like packing. But after my nervous breakdown on Friday, there was definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. After all, admitting you have a problem is half the battle - right? So over the weekend, with my husband's help, we purged, piled, and packed. It was good that the weekend was broken up with two family dinners - one with my brother, sister-in-law, and cousins on Saturday night (Bistro 45 in Pasadena); and the other was dinner with my parents and my husband's parents on Sunday night (Lawry's in LA). Those meals definitely gave us something to look forward to each morning - and it always helps to have good food & (just a little bit of) wine in your belly as fuel/reward for all the hard work.
Come Monday morning, I was ready. My headaches, although still there, were definitely bearable - and my only concern now was "supervising" the movers.
Second, the move.
The movers were supposed to show up at 8am on Monday morning. They came at noon.
Yes, that's right.
They were FOUR HOURS LATE.
At one point, I just gave up on the idea that we'd be moving that day. I calculated in my head how difficult it would be to put the bed back together, dig up the sheets, pillows, and comforters and find our toothbrushes. I also wondered whether it would even be possible to get another moving company to come out the very next day.
Allegedly, the reason for the delay was a scheduling mixup. The company had two moves that day - and they accidentally sent both trucks and both sets of movers to the one address, and nobody to mine. And allegedly that other job was way across town - so by the time they realized the mistake, decided who to send to us, and (probably a stop for some chow and a beer since now their day/shift had been extended by 3-4 hours) got to our apartment - my husband had left for work and my mom had driven up from Orange County to help out.
I will say that once they got to our place, they were very courteous, clean, professional, and fast. The whole move, from when they pulled up in front of our old place to when we shook hands and they drove away from the new place, was under 6 hours. That may sound like a long time, but I'd like to emphasize at this point that we have a LOT of stuff. Furniture-wise, I'd say we're slightly above average. But Stuff-wise, I think we could win a record.
I am actually not a hoarder by nature - but I am lazy. So even though I have stuff that I know we don't use or need anymore, I'm too lazy to do anything about it. My husband is more diligent than I - but he has trouble letting go of things. Yeah, it's a great combo.
But that's what moves are for, right? It gives you an opportunity/excuse to go through all your belongings and really ask yourself: Really? Do I really need this? Do I use this? Do I even LIKE this??
Lastly, the unpacking.
This is still a work in progress - but it's SO much better than packing and moving. My headaches are virtually gone (the ones that remain I'm realizing are more associated with how often I eat/drink rather than stress-related).
I enjoy the feeling of a blank slate - which is what a new place symbolizes to me. There's no clutter (yet). There's no mess (yet). The shelves lay bare, eagerly awaiting my ingenious method of organization and storage.
Granted, there are a TON of boxes. But I take comfort in the thought that every single thing in those boxes will eventually find a home in this, our new home. And if it doesn't - well then it's going in the trash.
Cuz that's how we do on the Sunny Side.
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