In Search of An End To This Madness
It’s been two weeks already. The photos I have taken make it look like it’s till Halloween. We didn’t dress up for Halloween but any of these get-ups would have worked quite well.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I have moved a great deal. I forgot to mention that many of those times my children moved with me. It’s become contagious. They have moved more than most of their friends too. Obviously, I don’t think they are done either.
What is it about moving that stirs up so many contrasting emotions? Delight at new possibilities, fear of the unknown, grief over lost friendships and familiar surroundings are all part of those emotions.
I was discussing with my son the other night after packing his glassware under layers of baking pans that I should hire myself out as a packer. I pack to get stuff where it’s going undamaged. He reminded me of all the times I helped to move him and his sister as well as my own sister from their places of residence.
How do two small women move an extra heavy king sized mattress down the stairs and across the parking lot to a waiting rental truck? My daughter and I couldn’t lift it so we slid it down the stairs to the front door. Then I started laying out cardboard boxes one in front of the other. As we slid the mattress over one set of flattened boxes, I’d pick them up and place them in front of the mattress again and keep sliding. Then we tipped the mattress into the truck with brute force. Yes, two little women can conjure up brute force when the conditions are right. That was another long story that I will tell one day.
Here’s how I pack artwork without paying for expensive packing. They always make it to their destination safe if properly wedged in somewhere.
When my last husband and I moved from the home he originally shared with his first wife, we moved a 58 foot 18 wheeled truck jammed full of stuff. They put an 8 foot box on the back of the trailer and we drove a pickup and car…filled. That was the pared down version of my ex’s collection of stuff. I’m living a much simpler life now and never moving it again… I hope. My books are happy just where they are.
So our next project before inspection and appraisal is the moldings around the doors and floors. The main bathroom has had the slow drain problem repaired after the wall had to be cut open. The plumbers installed a clean-out valve so the new owners don’t have to go through that again. It was 90 degrees here today. I’m ready to go home and watch it rain. And rain. And rain.

We took the slow way home so nothing blew off. The box lifted molding up for better visibility and we needed one that size.
Moving is madness but sometimes it’s a must. Things happen and we must adjust. Are you dug in deep or still feeling the pull of wanderlust? Can we bring an end to this madness or must we go bust?
From my heart to yours,
Marlene Herself