Moving

It's been awhile since I've posted, I know. We've been REALLY busy...moving, and painting, and pretty much having our lives turned upside down. In fact, I've been working so hard that I've gone and gotten myself sick. Since my head feels like it's going to explode, I thought now would be a good time to catch up on some blogging.

I've always loved moving...because moving always meant going someplace COMPLETELY new. When we moved from the Valley to the Plains, it was a massive change...there were no beaches, no mountains, and no deserts. But there were seasons, and forests, and lots and lots of farms...not to mention The Windy City.

Moving from the Plains to the Desert brought me back to more familiar territory, but after 5 years in the Plains, moving to the arid, rocky, mountainous terrain was a big adjustment...trading the wispy green and brown grasses for the rust and charcoal rocks and sands, and the 4 months of snow for 4 months of blistering heat.

Leaving the Desert for the Ranch was very much like leaving the Valley for the Plains...it was a return to lush and verdant farmland carved with creeks and speckled with lakes. We loved the small hometown feel and good county folk that we met there. We especially loved a place big enough to hold the promise of raising our kids in a wholesome place.

When we left the Ranch for the Jungle, we knew we were in for our biggest change yet. The Jungle, although technically part of the great United States, feels like a completely different country. The melding of so many different cultures and people is amazing. The tropical weather that fuels the Jungles incredible flora and fauna is paradisaical. You feel almost cut off from the rest of the world...or at least the rest of USA.

I always liked the adventure...the surprises...the discoveries. I always liked exploring a new place, and delving into it's secrets. So for me, moving was always fun.

But this last move WAS NOT FUN. It wasn't fun because it didn't take me to a new locale...just across town. It wasn't fun because we were forced to move, it wasn't a move of choice. And it wasn't fun because I was a bucket of stress and had a hard time finding the rainbow in my storm.

On one particularly bad day, I had just found out that we had to be out of our old house 10 days before I thought we did. I was hurrying to finish packing, and had started on some of my most treasured items...some collectible Disney pieces that my dad had bought me. I was being VERY careful (or at least, I THOUGHT I was), and I set a piece down on the couch to wrap it, but I didn't realize that the cushion was angled slightly, and in terrible slow-motion I watched the piece roll off the cushion and smash on the floor.

That was it. It was a total deal-breaker. I collapsed in tears and sobbed and sobbed. I called my sister, possibly the only person to understand my torment at losing a precious Disney piece (because she has her own collection), and sobbed and sobbed on the phone to her. I called my husband at work at sobbed and sobbed on the phone with him.

I'm not usually a cry-baby...I'm a "suck-it-up" kind of gal...but I think I was just so tired, and so stressed, that I just couldn't control my emotions and the hysterical side of me broke through.

I have a couple really great friends, and they came over and helped me pack. They are "suck-it-up" kind of gals, too, and didn't allow me to wallow in self-pity (thank goodness- although I wasn't very thankful at the time. At the time, I really wanted to wallow.). Thanks to them, I got packed, cleaned, and moved.

Now it's been 2 weeks since we moved to our new house. There is still a lot of organizing and unpacking to do. The highlight of my week this week will be bulk garbage pick-up day so I can get rid of all the trash and boxes that we've emptied. I've been busy painting, and can officially say that I am 1/2 way done with painting the whole house.

I'm REALLY eager to post pictures of our house when it gets finished being painted and set-up...but since I'm not done, you'll have to wait.

Until then, I just want everyone to know that I never want to move again unless we get transferred to another state and the company not only pays for it, but sends a crew to help.

Amen.