Settling in

Last week we officially moved into our townhouse in Atlantic Beach!  The day after Labor Day the moving trailer arrived and movers came to unload it all.  Aside from the fact we have WAY too much stuff (and we gave away so much before we left!), it's nice to have our things back.  It was like Christmas for the Little Scoot - all his toys, books, and stuffed animals were finally back!

Moving in: How do we STILL have so much stuff???

So we've spent the last week and a half unpacking, as well as taking care of little details like driver's licenses.  And seeing this morning that Saint Paul woke up to temperatures in the 40s, I have to say, I'm not regretting this relocation.

I leave you with a few photos of our new home:

Fishing pier at Jacksonville Beach

Chasing seagulls on Neptune Beach

And this is what it's all about: sea, sand, sun, and scooters.

This Is It

So, yesterday the moving trailer was packed.  I guess that makes it official: we're headed to Florida!

Why do we have so much stuff???

Thanks to the Coffee Queen's wisdom, we hired the excellent guys of Phil and Ted's Excellent Moving Adventure to back the trailer.  As Coffee Queen pointed out, everyone we know is ten years older than the last time we moved (including us).  I have to admit, I enjoyed sitting on the deck and watching other people do all the heavy lifting (literally).

We're now down to what items we can fit in the car, living in an otherwise empty house.  I remember ten years ago when the house was empty - an emptiness filled with possibilities.  We could do anything with the house that we wanted.  And we did.

This is a different kind of emptiness - the emptiness of goodbye.  This house has been our home for a long time and it's strange to think that very, very soon those years will all be behind us.

Last night I went to Jane's workshop and listened to the stories of my fellow Muskrats for the last time.  Tonight we got together with some good friends for dinner.  More goodbyes.

With Jane and the Muskrats.  That should be a band.

But not forever.  We'll come back to visit, and the people we know will visit us.  I will exchange stories with the Muskrats by email.  Florida, here we come.

I Hate Moving

Really, I just don't like it.  Sure, I'm excited about this new phase in our lives, the new adventures in store, taking a leap into the unknown.  When it comes moving even when I'm excited to get to the other side, I don't like the process itself.  Perhaps you can see why:

The chaos of boxes, packing tape, and bubble wrap.  And, of course, anything I need is in the box I just packed.

As the Coffee Queen will tell you, I usually prefer one large task to a dozen small tasks, even if the small tasks together will take less time.  Moving is a hundred small tasks, so, really, not my favorite activity.

I have to remind myself of what's on the other side of this process.  I think about living close to the beach, in a warm climate where I can ride the scooter all year long.  I think about the Coffee Queen, the Little Scoot, and I finding a small beach bungalow someday.  Maybe even being in a neighborhood again where we can walk to most of what we need (one of the things the Coffee Queen and I loved about living in Highland Park after we were first married).  I will miss this house, especially after all the sweat and tears we've put into making it the best home we could, but as the boxes pile up, the walls become bare, I realize something: a house is just one big piece of stuff.  Any house can be a home, and, more importantly, any house can be our home.

Moving day is getting close now.  We made great progress on packing this weekend, so I feel good about being ready for the movers (we decided to splurge on having someone else load the trailer).  Then, once we officially close on the house, it'll be time to load up the car and point it south.  I'll be sad to leave, but I can't wait to see what new adventures God has in store for us.  And I can't wait to be done packing boxes.