Growing up, my family moved only three times. The first time was from Colorado to New Mexico. I was only two at the time and I don’t remember anything about the move. We moved again when I was in the 4th or 5th grade…which I vaguely remember…and a last time when I was in the 7th grade. When I moved that last time with my family, I distinctly remember the constant packing before we moved and the unpacking when we arrived. I wasn’t a huge fan of the process, but my mom and dad did most of the packing, moving, and unpacking. I basically only had to worry about my own room.
My next big experience with moving came when I moved to college. My mom and I packed up her SUV (way too much stuff to fit in half of a tiny dorm room) and moved all my stuff from NM to Ohio. I was excited and terrified during that trip more because of college than the fact that I was moving. Over those four amazing years of college, I moved 4 times. I was now definitely not a fan of the process, but it was only about 2-3 trips in my compact car to move my stuff to a storage unit for the summer. Not a big deal.
Right after college I had grand plans of find a job in Ohio (a state that I had fallen completely and totally in love with) and settling into a home. God had other plans. He provided a job in China (that I wouldn’t trade for the world) which meant I had to move overseas using only three 50lb bags worth of stuff. That was the most stressful packing job I have ever done. I had no idea how to pack my “life” into 150lbs. worth of stuff. Having so little weight to work with solidified my dislike of moving.
However, the adventures with moving simply continued. I have moved every single year since moving to China. I just finished my fourth move and each move is a little more complicated then the last because I accumulate just a little bit more stuff each year. I now officially hate moving. It doesn’t help that this last move was the hardest move I have ever experienced.
Let me tell you just briefly about some of the highs and lows. High…I moved to a part of town I have wanted to live in for a year. Low…After three weeks in my apartment I somehow still don’t have internet even though the guy has already come and gone once and missed another scheduled time to come. High…my apartment is beautiful. Low…I don’t have a working washing machine...similar story to the internet. High…I have a huge walk in closet. Low…my bathroom ceiling leaked on me repeatedly when I moved in. High…the bathroom ceiling no longer leaks. Low…only half my stuff moved on my actual moving day. The rest didn’t come till two days later. High…I have an air conditioner in my bedroom. Low…The high humidity outside is causing my new wall paint to start chipping already. High…my school has an amazing maintenance team who have been over here repeatedly to fix things. Low…I no longer live in downtown so I spend way more time on the public bus now. High…I LOVE my new apartment. Low…my shower doesn’t actually have any sort of stall so I completely soak the entire bathroom when I shower. High…The school is building me a shower…soon-ish. High…I’ve never had a bedroom this big before. High…I live three minutes from where the bus picks us up each morning. High…it now only take 10-12 mintues to get to school in the morning instead of 20-23 minutes. High…I finally have the chance to make a house into a home (something I have not been able to do in the last three apartments).
As you can see, I think that moving to my new apartment has more highs than lows (I could probably think of a lot more highs…maybe only a few more lows). So despite the craziness surrounding this move and my hatred of moving, I am so glad that this moved happened. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Yay for more highs than lows!!!! :)
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