Friday, May 16, 2008

Gah! Moving

And insomniac again!

Thank you all for your kind words and advice. They help. Maybe more so because we've got a bit of a breather to think about our parenting strategies because Munchkin is Way the Hell Up North with my until Tuesday. 'Breather' in the sense of she's gone so that we can pack all of our earthly belongings for two days, move them all 500 feet up the street and then spend two days unpacking it all. Meantime, of course, we've also repainted the floors in the new house to great stinky effect, and are desperately coordinating last minute reno details: kitchen light not working anymore! who the hell can un-hook and then re-hook-up our gas range/oven? Will my electrician ever cough up the name of a reliable plumber so that we can get facilities for the washer put in / the tap fixed / the shower installed? We have no furnace! There are holes in the walls! The electricians left hand smudges all over the walls and plaster dust coats every surface. Did I mention my sister came to help us pack up a bit last weekend and gave me her nasty cold? And that I'm making two 800 km round trips Way the Hell Up North in a six day period?

So, yeahhhhhh, its 4:34 am and I'm blogging. Also blowing my nose.

Pynchon, at least, is a rock: he's got Thu / Fri off work and has been a whirl of activity since he got home from work on Wednesday. When he sets his mind to something, he's pretty much unstoppable. If I've spent the last several months organizing the details of our move (address changes, utilities, contractors, legal details, mortgage, packing supplies, childcare) he's a man of this particular moment, tying up carpets and taping boxes and taking bed frames apart and sealing dressers with giant rolls of cling film. He's noisily and busily efficient and I am running around doing simple errands because it's what I can manage on broken sleep and a head cold. Thank god I married such a practical, hard working man.

It is nice, though, to spend time together focused on one major task, time as a couple. Colluding in all the details of this major ordeal, moving into a new house. I keep reminding him of the last time we moved, from the apartment to the house, a couple of weeks before I got pregnant: remember we had to buy a drill? And all those trips to Canadian Tire for more painter's tape? And that awful thunderstorm? I remember the move before that, from Alberta to here, when we drove across the country together in a car full of CDs, days before he proposed to me on the threshold of our first home, that filty two bedroom apartment on the 11th floor, in the midst of yet another set of boxes, the chaos of one more move.

Moves have always, ultimately, been good for me. Try as I might, I can't think of one time where a move hasn't prompted an improvement in my happiness. Today, giggling as we bumped into each other, paint brushes in hand, hunched over the hundred year old pine floors in our new house, things felt right. I sure don't like packing up to leave this house, our first house, where I'm currently typing away at the breakfast bar that was such a selling feature for us--but then, I've never been good at goodbye, and what is packing up all those boxes but a protracted farewell to this home? But it's fun to work together like this again, to blast the stereo and run giggling through the rooms, beer in hand, at 9pm and not worry about waking a baby, to sleep in after a hard day's work, nice to make a set of new plans for as-yet-unconquered spaces, a lifetime of possibility opening up for us again.

21 comments:

Beck said...

Moving has ALWAYS made me happier: we moved from a horrible apartment to The Cute Rented House and from the Cute Rented House to Casa Beck, which is a very pleasing house, although your post DID remind me that we're doing a ton of work on it this summer.
Get better and travel safely.

naomicatgirl said...

I love moving. Wiping the slate clean, finding a new groove. It's all good.

Enjoy the move, feel better!

cinnamon gurl said...

Good luck! See you on the flip side!

Melanie D. said...

I don't know why this post made me cry. But it did.
The happy-sad aspect of moving. It stirs me.
I hope that your weekend brings fair weather, better health, and lots of strong backs!

Amy Urquhart said...

I hate the packing and physical moving part, but love the settling in and rediscovering your own stuff again. "We have nice stuff!" was a running joke between my mom and I.

Good luck gettin' it all done! (And you can usually call Enbridge or whoever is your gas service provider to do the stove hook-up etc.)

crazymumma said...

the excitement mounts!

kittenpie said...

It can be both exhausting and energizing to move, I have found. New house! Fun rearranging and decorating possibilities! But still, lugging stuff. At least you will soon be into the settling, which is nice.

moplans said...

Moving is such hard work but so cathartic to clear out all the old and start fresh.

Jenifer said...

I think moving conjures up the same happy-sad memories for me as well. I love the idea of moving and starting over all fresh and new, but the actual process the packing/unpacking makes me weak in the knees.

I know one day we will move out of our townhouse. The one we bought days before we got engaged, the pile of dirt we watched transform into our home. The home where we came straight from our wedding reception to laugh and open envelopes for two hours before we headed to the airport. The house our girls were conceived and brought home to...so ya leaving one day will be hard.

I like your optimism it makes me think that one day I will be able to do it to.

Run ANC said...

I've always been a bit nomadic. This is the first time I've stayed anywhere for long than a couple of years. I like the fresh start of moving. Plus I hate to clean. (I move when the house gets REALLY dirty. Guess that's why I'm checking out MLS right now...)

Manager Mom said...

I have always loathed moving OUT of a place, but love moving IN. Your post reminded me of when my husband and I first moved in together...we had that kind of intense, shape-this-place-up kind of experience. After he forgave me for throwing out all of his James Brown posters.

Dawn said...

As happens so often when I read one of your posts, I feel all gushy and happy inside.

Wherever you and Pynchon and Munchkin are there will be love and joy!

Good luck with all the transitions involved!

Kyla said...

It sounds pretty pleasant to me, like a vacation in your old life as a couple before leaping forward in your new life as a family in a new home. Lovely.

the new girl said...

Good luck!

See you on the flip side!

NotSoSage said...

Me too! I'm a few weeks behind you, but I'm dealing with all the logistics and while I feel a little crazy (and like I'm neglecting my job) I know that Joe will come through with all the heavy lifting and we'll be good.

Five weeks and 4 days for us.

I'm so excited for you guys...

Cheryl said...

Good luck with everything. I usually didn't mind moving, but somehow this move for me was a tough one. I'm still unpacking sort of. It's taken me a while to accept that I might spend the rest of my life-or the better part of the rest-so far from "home". BUT-in the last month or so I'm finally feeling like I want to start making this place mine...feeling better about it and now, I think that we'll start having some fun.
You're always so optomistic and it's refreshing. Again, Good luck!

Dawn said...

Unrelated to this post in any way, I wanted to say that just now when I glanced at your profile in the sidebar, I saw "untenured" as "unneutered". Don't ask me why my brain processed it that way. I'm not an idiot, but sometimes the wires get crossed and I transpose letters both when reading and thinking. I'll sometimes think the wrong word, but it's always similar in spelling to what I'm actually seeking.

Christine said...

moving has ALWAYS stressed me out, but ultimately it was always a good, happy time.

can't wait for some new pictures of the house. . .

Anonymous said...

You're making moving sound like a breeze! I'm 17, I've been through 5 big moves in my life and there hasn't yet been one without my mother crying... Still, in general they've been good. The only one I really hated was the one where I was made to leave my bed behind. I was 6. It was traumatic. I think a good plan to get Munchkin out of the way!

I hope everything goes smoothly.

Mad said...

...and the new home, big reveal? Time passes.

ahmad wiyono said...

i love this blog! Keep up good works... it to be nice if we can known each other.