Boxes, boxes, boxes!

Who knew my life would fit into so many boxes?

As you know from a previous post, we gave away a lot of things before making this move to Arizona. As I am unpacking box after box, I ask myself how many more boxes it would have taken if we hadn’t lightened up. I shudder to think!

Because this house has less storage than our last home, there are things that will have to be stored in the garage. I ask if we really need to keep these things or if another layer of give-away needs to happen. No, I decided, we made good decisions and these are things we will use. They just aren’t everyday things and can live in seclusion until they are needed.

Moving is a great way to shake up your life. After living in the same place for 26 years, I had certain ways of doing things, certain places I kept things, routines for everyday living. Even though we did move our furniture around once in awhile, truth is things stayed pretty much the same for the past 15 years or so.

Living in a new place is making me more thoughtful and, at the same time, more frustrated. I can’t operate on muscle memory even walking from one end of the house to the other. I have to think about where I’m going, how to get there, and what I plan to do once there. Auto pilot has been cancelled for the time being.

Of interest is how concerned some people, including our realtor, have been about our moving from the quiet country setting to being smack-dab in the middle of city life. Yesterday we were sitting out by the pool and realized we could hear the sound of the traffic and an airplane. I said, “This is what people have been concerned about. It isn’t bothering me at all. What about you?” Rhonda said, “Doesn’t bother me - in fact, I like it! It’s like white noise.” I don’t know if we would have felt this way even a year ago. I said, “We were ready for this. It was time to move here. That’s why we’re welcoming the sounds, the people, the activity: it was time.”

I’m taking today off. No unpacking. No organizing. Just some sitting, maybe some drawing, and just letting myself catch up with myself. Tomorrow is a new week that will unfold in its own magnificence.

Moving with grace and ease,

Krysta