The Anatomy of a Mess

"If it ain't a mess, it'll do till the mess gets here."--No Country for Old Men

I have a love/hate relationship with moving.  Part of me finds it exciting and fun.  The other part of me thinks it's one of the biggest pains in the a** challenges a person can experience, especially when there are children involved.  Of course, the most difficult challenge is saying goodbye to friends and, sometimes, family.  Moving is never easy, and moving overseas presents its own set of issues.  One of the most ironic conundrums is the anticipation of receiving household goods.  It takes a good 1-3 months for the prized possessions to travel across the ocean, and the excitement begins to build after living in a hotel or a house without furniture for weeks on end.  Then, the magical day arrives!  The crates are lined up on the truck, and the unloading and unpacking commence.

Having your material life stuffed into big wooden boxes is a bit disconcerting.  Un-stuffing those boxes is downright daunting.  Piles everywhere.  Masses of stuff.  Neverending heaps of paper and cardboard.  The excitement quickly dissolves into dread.  I often plunge into the depths of despair, not knowing where to begin and wondering if there will ever be an end.  

May I present to you a glimpse into moving hell.  This particular version of Hades began in Florida, took a brief sabbatical in Rhode Island, and is still in process on its way to Guam.  When we moved to Rhode Island, we put about 80% of our household goods from Florida in storage because we lived in a furnished house in RI.  While we've already received the items we took to RI, we have yet to receive anything from storage, and we probably won't see anything until the end of September.

Dining room in Florida...will I ever see this stuff again?  Do I want to?

Can't wait to get my bed!

Won't be seeing the piano or the desk in Guam  :(

Crates on the way to storage, truck #1

Movers taking a siesta here in Guam, where we received almost none of the stuff shown above.

The disaster in my new kitchen

Now, you've seen just a snippet of how enjoyable moving is.  I feel like I have been moving for the last 2 years, and I still have more unpacking to look forward to.  Dare I even type the words, but I can't wait to be settled for a while.  Eek!

P.S.  The kitchen looks a lot better now, I promise.