So. The move is done.
We packed up the truck and car on Saturday. Sunday after lunch we got here, and by Sunday evening all our things were inside. I put together the girls’ bunkbeds (Carl came along toward the end to assist – I was so tired everything was taking twice as long as it should, and Grace had already fallen asleep atop her toy chest, and Joy looked rather as though she wished she could do the same), they slept in real beds, and the rest of us spread mattresses wherever we could find box-free space and just dropped.
Things are slowly starting to come together. All our furniture is put back together. Some boxes are unpacked. My kitchen is put together. The set-up will change, but at least it is usable. The kids are starting to get their feet under them.
I am still dazed and exhausted, but starting to see some glimmers of light. I knew moving from our lovely spacious house to a small two-bedroom apartment was going to be hard. I knew that, no matter how much we downsized, we would be cramped. But the reality has been harder to wrap my head around than I expected. (It doesn’t help that what Carl thinks of as “cozy” I find claustrophobic.)
We met so many nice people on Sunday, who carried bookcases and boxes and welcomed us with warmth and kindness. They’re all kind of blurred. Just as the goodbyes to our dear friends who helped us load everything into the truck on Saturday are blurry. At some point, the memories will settle, and the present will start to sort itself out. Right now, it’s all still a bit overwhelming.
I walked across the parking lot and up a small hill with the girls this morning so they could play on the playground. I could almost imagine myself doing that with pen and paper, getting some stories down while they run and play. I put school books on shelves this afternoon and could almost imagine sitting at the kitchen table doing school with them. I washed dishes and could almost imagine making bread, preparing meals that require more than two steps, using my cookbooks and recipe boxes again.
Nothing is quite real yet. But it’s getting there.
Tomorrow we’re going on a hunt for groceries, and possibly see if we can find the local library. That ought to help.
(I have pictures, but I haven’t yet found the box that holds my cord to get them from my camera to my computer. Maybe by the next post.)
I cannot wait to see pictures!
Soon! I’ve found one of my desk boxes, but the others are still either taped shut or buried completely. And, of course, I can’t remember which one my cord was packing in.
It’s hard going from a big house to a much smaller house (we’ve done it), but when I feel really cramped, I remind myself–“Less rooms to keep clean.”
I keep telling myself that, too! Except right now there’s too many boxes in the way to clean. Not that I’m complaining TOO loudly about that, mind you …
Hopefully life will continue to settle in nicely and you’ll find that library!
Thanks! The library got postponed for other important things (like finding the grocery store and going to the beach), but it’s on the list for this upcoming weekend, for sure.