Visiting

 I'd love to write that we are unpacking and settling into the new house. Instead, we have artfully created a "staged" effect. It looks like we are unpacked and settled while, in reality, the majority of our possessions are still piled in boxes 5 deep against the basement wall. Thankfully we have the gift of time to unpack, because it is probably going to take a few years to empty all of the boxes.

Yesterday I took a break from unpacking and went to visit my Mom for lunch. I love that I now live an hour closer to her, which makes quick trips home easy. I am looking forward to more lunch visits in the coming months (weather permitting). 

Today Scott is going to go elfing while I work around the house. I'm concentrating on infusing some holiday spirit. It feels like Christmas is almost over and we have yet to capture any festive feeling. I'm not sure if it is going to happen this year, but I need to try because the boys deserve a happy holiday season.

Tired

 Slowly but surely we are settling into our new home. Yesterday our trash can, a bidet and Robby's bed were all delivered. (We were all excited for very unique reasons.) The living room is quasi-assembled and the kitchen is functional, but the majority of our treasures remain boxed in the basement. At this point, I want to get through Christmas before I go into unpacking warrior mode.

My leg has been feeling the impact of this move. I am developing bruises and small pinch cuts where my socket is no longer fitting. In the new year I definitely need to add "get a new leg" to my list because I'm tired of hobbling around.

In fact, today I'm just really tired. I think I may take the day off and just rest. I've been going at full speed for several weeks and I am feeling the fumes. Who knows, maybe I can capture some holiday spirit for my efforts!

We moved!

 My apologies for missing a week of blogs. As the movers began to haul away boxes on Tuesday morning, it became clear that we were not ready for the impending move. Despite the countless hours I spent carefully packing and planning, the day was chaotic and beyond exhausting. 

During the initial estimate, our movers said they believed it would take approximately 6-8 hours for the entire move. After it took the movers 6 hours to pack up the house in Virginia, I gave up any semblance of planning and switched into moving survival mode. After an extraordinarily long 13 total hours, we were surrounded by a maze of boxes and furniture in a new house in West Virginia.

Scott was an absolute rock star during the move. He was still outside, running up and down stairs and directing the movers late into the evening. I tried to keep up, but my body shut down. I ended up hiding in the bathtub with the cats.

Slowly we have been settling in and getting used to our new home. The house is beautiful and Friend (and Timmy) seem to love our snow covered wooded yard. I know it will take awhile for it to feel like home, but I am up for the challenge!

 

 

Ready or Not

 This morning I'm sitting on the couch in the quiet of my living room, as I have for so many other days, but today is different. Today we sell this home and purchase our new one. This is my last morning as a homeowner in Virginia. Our house is filled with boxes and chaos as we pack up our memories and 20 years of stuff. 

Yesterday Timmy and Friend headed to PA while Robby went back to college. It feels appropriate that Scott and I are left to close out the house. We started this adventure together, so it is kind of fun to finish it out strong as a team. 

Today we go to settlement at 3 and will be packing furiously both before and after. The movers arrive tomorrow and we will embark on our new adventure. Wish us luck!!  (I will return on Wednesday from the new home!!)

Almost ready

 Our time in this home is coming to an end. It is impossible to believe that on Monday we sell our house and on Tuesday we begin our lives anew in West Virginia. Packing up has been cathartic as I weed through every possession our family has accumulated over nearly two decades, trying to cull out what is useful and needed, what has gone beyond its usefulness for us and needs to be donated, and what is linked to memories that are cherished. The task has been emotional and exhausting, but we are finally coming to an end. 

This weekend will be spent packing and disassembling our Virginia lives in anticipation for Monday. Ready or not, it looks like we are moving!  Wish us luck, we are going to need it.

Packing

Yesterday was spent focusing on packing and purging Robby's room. I found it considerably easier to pack everything up with him residing in the dorm.  After 6 hours, an obscene number of boxes and a ginormous trash bag, his room is nearly ready for the move. Our walls are bare and our home is beginning to feel more like a house that we are exiting. 

My goal today is to finish Robby's bedroom and perhaps the computer room. I am trying to push packing the kitchen until the end of the week because living without plates and cuts feels very inconvenient. While I've been busy packing the boxes Scott has spent his time ferrying them downstairs to the basement. Slowly but surely, we are getting there.

Pack-a-palooza day #2, wish us luck.

Thanksgiving

 This past Thanksgiving was difficult. Between navigating the move, the sudden change in my employment status and the first holiday after Jae was killed by Lt. John Ellen in Austin Texas on April 3, joy was elusive. It is no secret that I am struggling this year to tap into the holiday spirit. At this point, I'm thinking of throwing up the white flag and calling it a minimalist Christmas.

I spent Friday and Saturday with Scott selling at the mall. Yesterday I stayed home and packed while Robby and Scott handled the sales. After the mall closed Rob was ferried back to his dorm to finish out the semester. It is hard to believe that his semester finishes in two weeks. In many ways it feels like I just dropped him off at school, but so much as transpired it also feels like a lifetime ago. 

This week is all about packing. We go to settlement in one week from today (yikes) and the movers arrive next Tuesday. It is hard to believe that this is all going to happen. Of course, I keep waiting for a wrench to hijack the process. After the year that I've had, nothing would surprise me anymore.