On what may have been the hottest day of the century, I moved. By and large, the process ran smoothly (our movers were fantastic!). I did face the typical “just throw it in a box, and I’ll figure it out later” situations, but I didn’t really hit a frantic part until the actual day of the move.

This is a pretty good indication of what 16 years in the same one-bedroom apartment will look like once it is constrained by boxes, bags and tape. Please keep in mind that there were actually some boxes in the hallway and behind me, as well. Yeah. That’s a lot of boxes.

So, we took a deep breath and let the movers in.  They were incredibly fast — prompted no doubt by the fact that they were trying very hard to get the move-in finished before the heat of the day hit the 103 max (since DWP had not yet turned on the power,we were fan-less).

And before I got into the Jeep to head off into the next adventure, I stood here for a moment.

There were a lot of emotions swirling around my brain as I stood here. There were some sentimental thoughts, some shuddering moments of “thank God that’s over,” and maybe one or two concerns about exactly how dirty that carpet looked. Overall, it was just a moment of reflection and some discombobulation. But I think change, even welcome change, can leave you feeling unsure. Everything in my day-to-day life has changed over the last few years. That’s not a bad thing, but I do note it. I do feel it.

We just dropped off the great mountain of boxes at the recycling center this morning. While we are a long way from decorated, we are functional now, and we are slowly learning how to live together in this new environment.

Onward!