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Health & Fitness

Moving Day

The MCML family moves into their new home.

What is it about moving day that can unnerve one so deeply? That one being me, of course. I am not a mover. The thought of moving makes my stomach churn and my skin crawl. There is something about the in-between, the homelessness of everything one owns being in a moving truck between one place and another, the sense of purgatory on earth. Okay, I'm being dramatic, but that is just how much I can't tolerate the process of packing and moving.  The only sunny side I can come up with is that it's about a week of pain and then it's over.

Of course, if you are married to my husband, which I am thank God, then that week is pretty much painless. Pretty much.

Turns out not having me around for a move was a good move on Brett's part. We started the morning early by stripping beds of their linens, throwing all the last-minute left-behinds from the bathroom in a box and running to Starbucks for energy. Brett's mom stayed the night and was up at the crack of dawn with us to get started. That woman hass limitless energy with or without Starbucks and we need to shout out that we (Brett, I mean) couldn't have done it without her. While Brett and Ida worked, the extent of my contribution was to make sure the girls finished their pumpkin scones and peppermint hot cocoa, to shower, get ready myself and go to work.

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And after that, I was out of it. Almost completely. Besides the occasional random text from Brett letting me know that they had loaded the truck at our old house in two hours (his guarantee) and then that they had to come back for another load because we had so much stuff (my guarantee), I heard little or nothing from them all day. In fact, at one point during a meeting, I actually forgot we were moving. I left one house in the morning and came home to another one in the evening. How awesome is that?

One of the things that made moving a five-bedroom house of six humans and two dogs much easier was using rented crates instead of moving boxes. This is something we do during our office moves and I thought it might be worth checking out for a home move. The thing I love about the crates is that they are large, can take a lot of weight and are stackable on a dolly so they can just be rolled right into the truck. Plus, if they are just being wheeled around and not jostled too much, you don't have to pack them as fastidiously. And fastidious packing, or any packing for that matter, isn't my strong suit.

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We also liked that they were environmentally friendly and had a time-frame on them. We have them for two-weeks, meaning we need to get unpacking stat once we land at the new house.

We ordered the crates from Rent-A-Crate (www.rentacrate.com) They run about $3 each for the first week and $1/week after that. We decided that two weeks would be enough and they recommended we order 70 crates. Brett was convinced we needed 50. I was convinced we needed 100 (Notice a theme here in a how we estimate things?) 70 was perfect. We used every single one for a cost of $280, which Brett says we definitely saved in hourly moving costs. Not to mention that a '4-Bedroom Master-Pak Moving Kit' from U-Haul would have cost $497.21 and we would have definitely needed two of those.

I was worried that I might come home to chaos and tears and a general mood of 'what have we done'. Instead, when I pulled in the driveway, I could see Maeve through her bedroom window unpacking, a candle already lit, bringing her own scents in and claiming her space. She smiled and waved. She looked happy, content, settled. She'd even hung her curtains and was finished unpacking her room before dinner. Cue James Brown and 'I Feel Good', even though I wasn't sure I would.

Ainsley, shod in my polka dot rainboots, ran in to tell me she'd 'found paradise' in the green belt behind our house and disappeared back into the trees and ferns. She was in shouting distance, but barely. And I didn't worry at all. What a nice exhale for all of us after city living.

Hailey and Hannah will be here this weekend and Sunday is their birthday. Another forcing-function to get the house in order for their barbeque shindig on Sunday. As orderly as a house in this situation anyway. More to come later on birthday planning.

In addition to the first-things-first motion of a new house, clean sheets on the bed, roasted chicken and mashed potato dinner from the QFC deli, the renovation began spontaneously.  Maeve asked if it was okay to pull off a strip of wall paper that was loose in the main bathroom. Sure, why not? But as she started pulling, it all started coming down. Rows of multi-colored tulip wallpaper gave way to a lovely Celadon green color that complimented the original tiles beautifully. Eureka! I have found the color for the bathroom. (The color in the photo doesn't do it justice. Maybe I need a new camera for this blog. Hmmm?) And who said removing wallpaper was difficult? This stuff came off like painting tape. I have a feeling I will regret those words as we tackle Snoopy and the other bedrooms.

First night in the new house: success. Today: unpacking. This is where I thrive. This is where I will earn my keep. This is when house becomes home.

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