The first winter that The Boy and I spent in our second apartment was an odd, long one. Within weeks of Christmas, our first floor flooded, necessitating three long weeks of repairs. During that time, our first floor was completely unusable, and we spent the majority of our time at home in our room, watching movies and trying to entertain the cats.
Our complex was able to get our first floor back together just a few days before Christmas, and as soon as the new carpet was laid, it seemed that our next-door neighbors were moving out. On Christmas Eve, The Boy and I were headed out to visit family as they were loading their belongings into a u-haul. I remember at the time understanding why they would be moving: their apartment, like ours, had flooded, but they had a very young child. I imagine had I been in their position, I might have done the same. I remember thinking about how odd it must have been, to be moving the day before Christmas – or in the month of December in general, and wondered how I would handle it if I were the one who was moving.
Then – we bought a house. Our timing for purchasing our home was a little different than we originally thought it would be, and we ended up buying right after Thanksgiving – with our move-in date slated for two weeks before Christmas. I wondered if this was how our neighbors felt, as the pressure to pack, clean, paint, move, decorate for the holidays, light the menorah, and shop for Christmas gifts was very overwhelming! I honestly didn’t know how we were going to do it all by Christmas, or even by the new year. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it didn’t have to be hard, either. I mean, we were (are still, really) moving from a nine-hundred square foot apartment into a house that is nearly twice the size. Easy peasy, right?
Well, moving has been almost as easy as I thought, but there have been some catches. Our first night in the apartment, my treadmill sat in our backyard. Our 100+ year-old house’s doors were not wide enough for us to get it inside without some serious disassembling. We had to get rid of one of my bookshelves when we moved, so until yesterday, half my books were sitting unpacked. Our love seat wouldn’t fit up the stairs, so the room we were hoping to use as a combination office and all-purpose/game room sits full of boxes – because it’s a convenient place to put them.
My priorities definitely shifted our first weekend here. My goals have changed from having the whole house unpacked by the first of January, to having it all unpacked and in place by mid-January. My first floor is entirely set up, and is absolutely amazing. The second floor can be assembled over the coming weeks. Ultimately, I wanted to be able to come home from work, fix dinner, and be able to sit down in the living room with The Boy and enjoy a movie – without wondering where the DVDs were, or where our USB cables got packed away.
It is and will be a process. But our living room is assembled, our bedroom has everything in place. The tree is up and decorated and my menorahs have their homes. Sure, we’re still in the process of making our house into a home, but we’re ready for the holidays – and that’s all I wanted when we got the keys.
Have you ever had to move during the holidays or another busy time of year? How did you handle it? What were your worries?
