With four days to go until the moving company descends upon us, packing every cup, sock, paper clip and candle in the house for its destination in either Rome or Olympia, either by sea, air or car, my stress level is about as high as it ever gets. At just at about this point in the process the first time we went overseas with the foreign service, to Romania with a baby and two cats, my friend Janet K. gently let me know that I needed to get much better at asking for help.
Every time I move now, I remember what Janet said, and I ask for help. I am so lucky to have friends and family who love us enough to help us when we are at our worst. This time, Becky gave hours of her time to start the culling and organizing process, and reducing my holdings of heavy books, carting them to donation locations. She did research to find worthy charities to help ease me into the mood to part with my heavy stuff.
As I sort out magazines, calendars, vases, dresses and suits, Janet D. and Brent S. take them from me and deliver them to deserving organizations that will use them or sell them to carry out their programs.
Then my sister-in-law Mariah came to stay with us for over two weeks. She kept us on track, urging us to purge, setting up locations in the house for storage items, shipping items and suitcase items. She kept us healthy by encouraging us to exercise, drink water and have fun. She helped us organize the yard sale and sat outside all day long, setting prices, negotiating sales and keeping weirdos at bay. When she left, we weren't sure how we were going to stay motivated. Then Ela arrived.
Ela was warned that we were in the last throes of pre-packout panic, and to expect bad behaviour. She asked how she could be most helpful, and I said, "Feed us." Today, when I was near comatose from sorting through a box of old receipts and clippings, she presented me with a ham sandwich with gourmet imported Polish ham the she carried down from Ontario. This evening, when I got home from an appointment, there was dinner on the table, and the table was set. She had gone into my cupboards and fridge, and found ingredients to make angel hair pasta with pesto, chicken, mushrooms, and carrots. It was amazing. Next to my plate was a salad, already served in a bowl. All I had to do was eat.
Having the luxury to sit and eat without having to cook got me to thinking about all the people who have helped us get ready for this move to Rome and Olympia. They have helped us not only with the concrete handling of stuff, but with the delicate handling of our emotions as our little family unit will be separated for the first time by about 1/3 the planet's circumference (Joey pointed that out to me today on our little after-lunch stroll in the park).
And we won't only be separated from our child. As we researched the pet moving process, and the conditions in our attic apartment in Rome, we came to the conclusion that, for the first time ever, we would have to go to post without our cats. When I finally got up the courage to ask my mom if she would consider adopting them, she accepted so quickly that I hadn't really even launched into my rehearsed hard-sell routine.
And just when emotions in the house were at an all time peak, my sister called to say she was working out a route and itinerary for our road trip to Olympia. How did she even know that I was also thinking about a Lewis and Clark route, but never had found the time to research and plan it?
These are only the few incidents of loving kindness toward our family that came to mind just now while I was loading the dishwasher. There were more, and there will probably be even more as we wend our way to St. Louis, Wyoming and Portland, on our way to deliver our one best favorite person to her next adventure, her solo flight that we hopefully have prepared her well enough for during the last 18 years.
