Thursday, December 22, 2011

Packing. PACKING. packing. PaCkInG.






 
Packing. PACKING. packing. PaCkInG. Packing. Packing

Packing lunches
Packing Legos
Packing backpacks
Packing the car
Packing for Rockford, Illinois (Christmas)
Packing bedding
Packing my cheeks with popcorn balls
Packing groceries
Packing dollies
Packing suitcases
Packing blue packs
Packing plastic bins
Packing boxes
Packing Zippies

This is what I did this week. My month. It’s my world. There is no other world, other than packing. I feel like it has been a part of my world off and on for the last 3 1/2 years. And there is a part of packing that is helpful. I weed out things that have absolutely no reason to be in our life. Packing helps us transition. It’s physical. You can get your head around it. But here’s the deal with packing and me. I’m kind of packing loser. This is where I go wrong with packing. I have a slight Post-Great Depression Era process that goes through my mind when packing. Tarrah’s train of thinking... “I know I will never find the other mate to that sock, but if I keep it, I could use it do dust”... That’s kind of a poor example, but you get my drift. But it’s not only with socks, it’s with sleeping bags, broken toys, picture frames, vases, etc. And that kind of issue mounts a bit when packing for a family of six.

I also kind of get nauseated when it comes to the details of packing. Road trips, travel in general, I pack light, serious light. I can pack up a car in 10 minutes flat, if all the laundry is clean. I can pack my family for a long plane ride like I get paid the big bucks for it. It’s the whole house packing that drives me to drink. And the fact of the matter is that I have stuff that has been in boxes for over 3 1/2 years that I have absolutely no recollection of. When we sold our house 4 years ago, I had 3 children under 4 and one on the way - the big deal was making sure that I tried my hardest to not leave one of my kids of the at the grocery store. That was my daily goal. So, remembering if I have any mattress pads is a bit of puzzler for me. And then we have suitcases full of our things from India that I didn’t bother to unpack that still kind of smell like India. And then there is packing up the stuff of daily living the last six months living with my folks.

Oh man.

But you know what?

We close on our house in 8 days. The kids and I celebrated their last day at a great school. My mom made popcorn balls for me, oh, I mean, for the kids. We pick up Jayson tomorrow in Minneapolis and head down to Rockford (near Chicago) to celebrate Christmas with Jayson’s family. We go ice skating often on my parent’s lake. Jayson loves his job. In 8 days, our family of 6 can live under the same room for many consecutive days in a row. We celebrate Jesus’ birth soon.

Merry Christmas friends.