Moving Out

The big week is finally here - Moving Out! It's not like we've been preparing for months or waiting endlessly, but still it's a culmination.. In fact, Erin and I were discussing last night that this WHOLE THING only started as a CONCEPT less than 2 months ago. In that short time, we:

finished up elementary, high, and pre-school-years;took trips to California (Erin), China (Bill, Mary, Emily & Ellysa), and Florida (all of us); picked out a new home to rent for the next 3-5 years; enrolled the girls in a new school; put our house on the market and sold it! (Closing is July 8); AND, most recently, we have sorted through the collection of a lifetime of our "stuff" to get ready for our move.

I would go to the mat with anyone to argue that moving is one of the most exhausting things you can do. Let this be a warning to you.... don't hang on to so much STUFF! And, don't stuff your stuff willynilly in every conceiveable space in your house! We have made discoveries in so many drawers, attic boxes, crawlspace bins..... we have jammed unrelated "stuff" all over this house!

It HAS been refreshing to clean out and give/throw, but as those of you who have done this know, it is also emotionally draining. There are the "What an idiot I am!" moments when you discover the worthless stuff you have selfishly clung to. There are the "Aw, look at THIS..." moments that bring you to your knees with a memory. Of course there are the "?@#^ this is ruined!" discoveries as well. After a solid week of those moments, interspered with meetings about customs restrictions, insurance inventory forms, and the occasional discussion of where we'll live when our stuff floats away, I AM SPENT!

This has definitely been the steepest, most rocky part of the climb thus far. (See my reference to "Come to the Edge" in my first post.) I was (happily) raised as a "stay in the pew" Presbyterian but my feet were itching to walk to the alter on Sunday so I could lay this down. The sermon was titled "Faith and Doubt" and it was one of those messages that make you wonder if the minister is a mind reader who spent time in your head recently. Anyway, it recharged me and reminded me that God has it all covered, even when I don't know what"it all" is yet! I have Erin, my daughter who was born older and wiser than I, to thank for nudging me to church when I really just wanted to continue to sit and cry.

Anyway, the packers will work for a couple days, boxing "stuff" and wrapping furniture. We have piles and piles for Goodwill in the garage. There are post-it notes on furniture and closets and cupboard doors to inform the packers that something is to go to China. We have wondered, argued and debated about whether to ship or store many items, but after Friday, we can (MUST!) "let it go...." We will be in a 2-bedroom apartment starting Friday night; a 3-bedroom opens up next week, so we'll move again! The things which go into local storage will be packed up next Wednesday (after a few more rounds of give/throw debating, I'm sure).

We have painstakingly tried to anticipate what we'll need to have in our possession, and on our backs and feet, between now and whenever our stuff gets to Shenzhen. The International movers can not give us a firm arrival date so we may have to live in an apartment there for a couple weeks when we arrive. Emily's task was the most painstaking because, in the worst case scenario, she will need clothes to wear to a new high school for the first week. This is a BIG DEAL!

I covet prayers of my friends and family. There are still many decisions to be made. After a trip to WI in July, our schedules will be full of Dr. appointments and efforts to update legal documents, convert things to electronic mails, etc. Bill takes it all in stride quite well; I get wigged out way too easily, but hey, I'm still moving on! Erin and Emily have been amazingly helpful. Both of them are way more organized than I am so they have made great suggestions and executed with energy I lack. And Elly (I mean Ellysa), well, she is still NOT a happy camper. She has, thankfully, beeen gone every day from 7:45 - 2:30 at "Camp Invention" at her elementary school. Parents of friends have been kind enough to let her go home and play afterwards. She came in from a day of pure pleasure with two of her best school pals and burst into tears when she saw that our kitchen and dining room were reduced to cardboard boxes and paper-wrapped chairs and tables. We all huddled around her for a family hug. It's very hard, but I believe myself when I tell her it will be okay.......