Freaking Out

As we were eating dinner on Saturday, just before leaving the new house, hubby tells me he wants to move to the new house permanently... this week even.  We got a lot done over the 3.5 days we'd just spent there and he's been able to get an area set up for him to work, so he figured lets just move. 

I love the idea for two reasons:
1.  Maybe the landlord can get the house rented out sooner and we can get some money back, and
2.  It will mean less travel back and forth.

The down side is that now I am in super-stressed mode.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am a planner.  To be told on Saturday that the goal is to be out of the house on Wednesday (yep I have 4 days) is a bit stressful.  It's true we don't have a lot of big things to move (no furniture to speak of), but gathering together all the little things is probably more time consumptive.  Add to that, hubby is busy working on a project right now means it's mostly on me to get the prep work done.  Then there is the cleaning so the house is presentable and so we get our deposit back.  Oh, and I have a surprise trip to a movie theater planned for tomorrow to see Chimpanzee (can you say half of tomorrow is booked already with that).

I guess the good news is that although the wish is to be out of the house on Wednesday, we have more time.  I would like to be at the new house by the weekend though.  Now that I have been able to vent and share a little, I feel a bit rejuvenated, so I bid you adios as I go to pack and clean some more.

Up Close and Personal

Jon has been friends with T for 20 years.  They have traveled long distances together and even lived together for multiple summers.  It's safe to say that they know each other pretty well.  But it's amazing what you learn about people when you help them pack.

For example, among other things we learned:

• Their friends LOVE giving gift cards.  We found them all over the house.  Some had been partially used and some had not.  
• We already knew that they had a love of books, but you don't realize just how much till you have to pack them and lug them around.
• Their dog is the sheddingist dog I've ever seen.  I mean, it's impossible to keep up with the hair he produces.  I would sweep a room after it had been cleaned of all their luggage and stuff and then someone else would come in behind me and they thought I hadn't done anything.  I do not envy the sweeping that will have to happen in Qatar (where the lows don't go below the 70's - ever).
• Only offer to help with laundry if you are OK with seeing all their dainties.
• People change as they get closer and closer to a deadline and there was no exception in this case either.  It's amazing to see how attitudes and priorities change when they realize time is running out and they HAVE to get certain things done in a very short time.

I've helped people move boxes before and in those situations you just learn how much stuff they have.  When you actually help people box up their lives for storage or shipment you really do learn a lot about them.  Be warned.  Only offer to do this if you know you are OK with learning new things about them, because you may find some interesting and strange stuff that could change your opinions about them (for the better or worse). 

Good news T & K... we still love you and would do it again if necessary.

A Day of Rest

In our house, Sunday is typically a day of rest.  That means that after church we take it easy.  That could mean a nap, watching TV, reading books, knitting, or visiting with family or friends. 

Being that the friends we are helping move right now, are having their air freight picked up today (Monday), our typical Sunday did not happen.  Rather, Jon slept in (he fell down some stairs on Saturday so he was a bit sore and didn't sleep all that well) and then we went over to our friend's house to help finalize the shipment being picked up today.

Even though there was boxing, hauling, and labeling of packages it was still a restful day in a way.  It's amazing how enjoyable packing can be when you are having good conversations with friends.

Warmth Please

A few weeks back, we had temperatures of almost 80 degrees in Northern Virginia.  Needless to say, temperatures the last few days are giving us all the incentive in the world to get out of Dodge and move South.  A couple days ago we got a dusting of snow (luckily it melted hours later) and today we had a bit of sleet and just generally cloudy skies with cold temps. 

We are at that point now where we are so close to being ready to go that we can taste it, yet hubby is now getting inundated with work which makes it hard for him to get those last few things done before we go.  We've also been asked by friends and family in the area to stick around for certain functions that are happening over the next couple weeks.

I'm not sure how much of it we will stick around for, but I can guarantee you this... if the temps don't get back up toward that 80 degree mark soon we'll be South by Easter. 

Scrambling

Hubby has set a departure date... Saturday, March 19.  Needless to say this has me scrambling a bit.  I'm frantically trying to make sure all paperwork that requires my physical presence to be completed, packing things for storage or in the camper, figuring out what other things we might need to make life on the road easier, and visiting one last time with friends and family... all while trying to keep things as normal as possible for the kids.

This has been quite the feat I must say, but things are going well so far.  The weather has turned warmer and dryer as of late which makes getting outside and doing things much easier.  The kids have also been a bit more cooperative, making errands a bit easier and faster.  Perhaps they realize that once we head South we will be able to visit beaches and some really cool museums and parks that we just don't have access to here. 

I think they are also getting a bit tired of the life of a nomad and they realize that although we will be living in a camper and driving across the country, this will ultimately put us one step closer to our ultimate goal of moving into a house (be it in Australia or somewhere in the US - but where it is warmer).

As much as I'd like to update you more, I should probably get working on my to do list, so that when Friday comes around I'm not running around like a chicken with my head cut off.