Friday, August 3, 2007

Good Night Sweet Fourty Five

Our last night at the house and all is near done. It is one of those bittersweet moments. This has been such a great neighborhood and in particular, a great few blocks. I have never been so close to neighbors and felt so a part of a community. We have been very fortunate and it is going to be more difficult than I imagined. I think I have been ignoring the present sorrow and focusing on the future 3 bathroom glory. The past year has been almost unbearable in the small house (read: weensy kitchen, one bath, kids sleeping in basement....) but a great year of outside living and interacting with our neighbors. Larry from two houses up has brought over two very distracting bottles of wine this week to prevent us from packing. Did you know that packing is way more fun after two glasses of wine? It is.

One of my main concerns to obsess over this week has been memories for the kiddos. I worry as we simplify and toss "clutter" that we are erasing childhood memories and breaking any sort of attachment to things they have built. I see small class projects, silly notes, clippings, etc. ending up in the rubbish bin and hope that they themselves chose to not keep the item. I hope they have preserved memories in their own little way and held on to keepsakes they deem important. Not that I expect them to move a box full of half used notepads, tacky souveniers, random desk supplies and such (not that I am hinting that it has been done or anything.) Remember Woodstock? No, not the epic outdoor concert, but Snoopy's sidekick? I kid you not, I moved a plastic windup woodstock for YEARS. He rarely left his box he shared with Suzy Zoo notepads, smiley face stickers, rainbow heart shoelaces, and jumbo pencils, but he went where I went. My dear Grandpa Dick had given it to me when I was like, 8 years old. So, I hope the kids have their Woodstock somewhere safe to follow them through our moves. I know that I look forward to unpacking my sturdy tea mug with the peace star on it.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Wound up Tight: the good, the bad, the necessary

As many of you know we are in the midst of a move. Now, moving in itself is a wee bit arduous. There is so much involved: packing, purging unnecessary items, trips to donation centers, garage sales, clutter, make shift pantry meals, and so on. However, one of the key factors of moving is having a place to actually move into. That is where the story gets funny. After months of looking for a place to move into we threw up our hands in despair. Okay, maybe not uber dramatic, but we did raise our eyebrows. One evening Brian was on his laptop and I was on mine when he starts to chuckle. I looked at the posting he was reading from temporary housing online and low and behold, our friends were listing their house for a 10 month lease. It was as if someone had handed us an envelope with the "golden answer." I liken the whole situation to a group hug. They need a family to lease the house whilst back east, we needed a place ASAP, we get more time to find the right place...The fun is just beginning.

Our friends leave for the East Coast August 28th. We need to be out of our current place August 4th. Oh you say, that's 24 days in between. Why yes it is. Fortunate for us, we have friends that vacation. We will be staying at some friends' for 10 days, then the house for 9 days while they vacation in Hawaii, then who knows where for 5 days. Sound crazy? I like to say it is nomadic.

So you could easily see how one could be wound up pretty tight. Me too. I have decided to approach this move with enthusiasm (it is a neat house to move to), flexibility (so I am working extra, Beck wants to potty train, I am interviewing new nanny's, there are two extra soccer practices a week....)and a calmness. Is it calm or denial of what all needs to be done, because denial gets us nowhere. And explain to me how you can pack up three boxes, clear out a whole entire cupboard and Viola' the clutter reproduces and there is even more to pack. Seriously, answer me that!
I could easily be wound up tight. Maybe I am, but have good coping skills.

Our dear friends Rich and Cyn and their new baby Stella invited us up to their house for yummy pizza and salad. We had been busy all day with a grage sale so were good and plenty ready to relax. When it is time for baby stella to fall asleep, her mama wraps (ie, swaddles) her up nice and tight. The necessary version of wound up tight.

At least I am not frantically running around being unorganized. Oh contraire. It is so satisfying to clear out a closet or cupboard. We really ought to put out and APB for people to go to Goodwill for some good stuff!!

My favorite lunch this week has been a whole wheat tortilla, finely shredded lite cheese, a handful of market fresh butter lettuce, tomatoe, and a smear of my homemade white bean spread. All nice and wound up tight in the tortilla. Yum.

So this week we are hiring a new sitter, moving, potty training, gearing up for a soccer tournament, working, and moving forward!!