How's It Going With The Move?

"How's It Going With The Move?", is a question I've been asked every day since I've come back from Canada/Maine.  The first few days were stressful because I was trying to catch up on emails, bills, updating our move timeline, and getting the kids ready for camp.

One week later, I feel like a different person.  J and I have stuck to our timeline pretty well.  One of the toughest parts about this move is getting rid of our stuff.  The first couple of rounds of purging was easy.  It was the low-hanging fruit of purging.  We got rid of a bunch of stuff we'd been meaning to for years.  The latest rounds have been much more difficult and time consuming because we're now deciding on stuff that has sentimental or practical value.  I'm so glad we started tackling this task back in January because it truly has taken us this long to get down to something manageable.  The people at Goodwill know me by name.

I've broken down our packing into 6 categories:  give some to my mom, some to my dad, sell some of it, put some in storage, give to Goodwill, and take to Paris.  When we moved into our current house, I blindly packed everything up into boxes because everything was coming here.  Packing for this move is more complex and time consuming.  To help the movers identify boxes easier on moving day, which is August 17th, I made brightly colored labels for each category to stick on the boxes.

"Are the kids doing OK with the move?"... I think so.  I've heard them say, "so, are we never going to see 'so and so' ever again?"  I've tried reassuring them that they will by letting them know that we'll come back to visit, our friends and family will visit us, and we can also Skype.  Luckily, the kids have Skyped with Nana Ruthie Pooh over the years, so they actually know what that entails.

I think they're more worried about not being able to bring their toys.  We've tried keeping them informed and included, but not overdoing it.  I get nervous putting them in summer camp and hold my breath from the time I drop them off to the time I pick them up at the end of the day, so transitioning them to a new country and school is probably a bigger deal for me than it is for them.  Simply, I hope they like their new teachers and make friends.

As of right now, I think we have our act together.  We're flying to Paris on August 19th, which is only 19 days away, so I know it's going to get crazy in about a week when we pack our lives away.  So, today, I'm going to savor the rest of my free time as I say "see you later" to all of the friends who have invited us over or are coming to visit.