I mentioned previously that we’ll likely place our house on the market in February.  I tend to take a few great many things for granted and it finally dawned on me that February is less than 30 days away.  I know, I know – how obtuse am I, right?   And have I got a lot to do.  A year ago I had it my mind that we were moving long before the end of 2014, but we’re still here and so are the boxes of items we wouldn’t need for the remaining amount of time here.  That’s really put things into perspective because I packed-up things we wouldn’t immediately need for a few months, but it turns out that a few months turned into a year, which means we probably didn’t need those items at all.  It’s embarrassing because with  each move, we’ve mentioned how much we need to scale-down and yet, we’ve failed to do this as we’ve collected more with each new home and each move.

Times four…

Good grief. It’s only a tad over-whelming, but eliminating stuff so we can move with only the necessary can and must be done.  Seven is my favorite number and the move back to Washington will move number seven.  Hmm, but then I’m not superstitious, so that doesn’t matter.  Yes, that picture encompasses roughly a quarter of just the boxes, which doesn’t include the odds and ends items that cannot properly fit into a nice (not so little) box.  Nearly two decades of marriage and we’ve accumulated some stuff an excessive amount of crap.  In addition to scaling-down and repacking our possessions, I also have to work-on cleaning grout, light-fixtures and curtains, touching-up the paint on walls, touching-up the areas requiring replacement caulk in the bathrooms and finally renting a carpet cleaner.  Whew!

My husband is overwhelmed with everything, but for me, this is nothing.  We’d agreed on it beforehand, but his move here in 2011 left me with the remainder of a 2400 square foot home to pack.  When he moved here first, he rented a small truck to bring his wardrobe, our guest-bedroom set and his office set to hold him over until I’d packed the remaining items and finalized selling our Washington home, at which point I was to move to Nevada.  I’d  been successfully packing and had probably 92% of the remaining stuff ready for the move.  Impressive isn’t it?  However, I called my husband in a panic and said there was no way I’d be ready by the coming Saturday.  He said, “Oh no – I’ve missed you too much and I’ve been looking forward to you getting here this weekend.”  And I did move the weekend we had planned because from Nevada, my husband organized a group of family and friends to help me pack the remaining items and several even returned to help me pack the moving truck a couple of days later.

’11 move day

And here I am in Nevada preparing to move back and even with lots to do, I am calm.  I think the difference this time around is that my husband is here.  Although he has a job and is working full-time, I still have him here physically to support me and offer help when he has the opportunity, instead of offering verbal support every few days from a few states away.  His presence makes a big difference and I’m relieved this move will be together.  Dear Lord, Thank you for my husband and thank you that he’s here to help prepare us for moving and please help me to cherish him and never take him for granted.  Amen

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~Jenn