Moving Memories

My family and I moved last month, not far but it might as well have been.  It seems it takes the same amount of effort to move "stuff" 2 blocks as it does 2 miles.  Having moved overseas and back, I do know that kind of move is different but domestic, "inner-city" moves - it is the same.  Painful.

Do you remember when you moved into your first apartment?  I do.  Back then, moving was actually sort of (dare I say it..) FUN.  There was never a schedule or orchestration.  I don't think I paid for anything (other than beer or an occasional U-Haul).   Still, it always got done and we usually had fun doing it.  The help usually started with a boyfriend (if I had one at the time) and his friends (along with mine)  If I didn't have a boyfriend at the time, it was my brother and his friends (and mine).  If all else failed, my friends would help.  Of course, I always helped in return. Simple and fun and it took less time than it did to attend Happy Hour.

It's more complicated now.  And, because I believe you occupy the space you are given, we always seem to have more extra stuff to get rid of every time we move.  If you have six drawers, you will fill the six drawers even if you've moved from a house that only had two.  Looking around my town, it is fairly common to see $40,000 cars parked out on the street while the owner's garage is stuffed  with boxes and used for storage.  Kind of crazy I think but part of the American way. 

The last few days of moving I was literally filling shopping bags full of whatever was left and carrying them to the new house.  My daughter and I joke that we moved our entire house with those shopping bags.  Maybe it's because that's how I did it when I was moving apartments back in "the day".  

When she's not moving, Myrna is writing about life with teenagers at Tangerinetimes.com

this is an original 50-something moms blog post