Unwrapped

I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. We spent the two coldest days of the year, so far anyway, moving our furniture. First from the condo in Banff, then from the storage unit in Lethbridge. It was so cold that the hoses on the washing machine burst because we had the front door open to move stuff in. The truck we rented to move from Lethbridge was two hours late being released to us, so we didn't get fully moved in until 10pm. If you can call boxes stacked haphazardly, moved in. We left the house at 8am that morning. It was a long, horrible, frustrating, back straining day. Luckily, I was able to pay 2 of my students to help us, and Bob our floorer pitched in as well. On the other end our good friend's Jaylene and Darren helped load the truck. Thank goodness for kind people.

Christmas day, we got to experience the ultimate unwrapping experience, when we spent 5 hours emptying moving boxes. I thought we had been absolutely vicious in the moving process by getting rid of anything we didn't need. Well, not enough, because I have thrown out another 8 bags over the past week. Right now the house is 90% set up. We needed to get it that way as friends or ours were coming to visit on the 27th. Tonight, I plan to actually unpack my clothes and get my underwear sorted. I get giddy just thinking about being able to find my underwear in one place.

Then when we feel we have recuperated enough from all the fun we have been having moving and unpacking we are going to attack our garage. Right now we have a 2 car garage we can't use because it if full of moving stuff and a half demolished yoga studio. I want to be able to use that garage before the next cold snap hits.

Our house has seen a line of trades people cross the threshold: electricians, plumbers, locksmiths, and floorers. Our insurance has been transferred, the mailing address of subscriptions updated, utility's transferred or set up. I think I have finally gotten everything sorted and done. A feat I was beginning to doubt would be possible. We even have our TV and Internet working. I take joy in the small things.

But mostly with this move almost done I am hoping that my bad attitude will disappear. I have been at turns short, grouchy, angry, agitated, tearful, and desolate over the course of this move. This has been the most strain our marriage has ever had to take. I do not look forward to doing it again anytime soon. However, I have learned a few things from this move that I am sure will make the next easier. First, hire a moving company if you can, they are WORTH the cost. Second, take at least a full week off to move if you can, it will save your sanity not having to work and unpack at the same time. Third, whatever time the renovations are supposed to take, add another week. Don't tell the contractor they have an additional week, or you will be right back where you started. Fourth, know your limits. It might seem like a good idea to do all your renos at once, but if you are doing a lot of the work yourself, it will burn you out, so stagger big jobs. Now all I can hope is that I take my own advice with the next move.